Roger Williams Quotes
… hedge or wall of Separation between the Garden of the Church and the Wilderness of the World
This is a very important quotation. It is the first American expression of the “wall of separation” concept between church and state.
Roger Williams, c. 1603-1683, Clergyman and founder of Rhode Island, Quoted in John Berry, Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul, 2012
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Pen name: Jack Nipps
Carroll was writing to Troy during the time of the question of Catholic emancipation in England. Here he is clearly alluding to the British form of government. Carroll never missed the opportunity to champion religious freedom as manifested in the U.S. Constitution. For an earlier example of his praise for religious freedom, see {596933}.
This quotation is one of the first to make the critical observation that the only time that tolerance of a religion is necessary is when there is an established church and others that deviate from it. If there is no established church, as the Founding Fathers envisioned, there is no preeminent church to do the tolerating. All are equal. In practice, Protestant churches were proportionately dominant in early America and up through the 20th century. So most of the issue of tolerance problems in America were cultural. And there is still a minority of Christians who believe that America should be a Christian country and other religions should be “tolerated.” However, Clinton and most of the founders did not want to see even general Christianity established as the national religion even they it was the majority religion.
Backus was the first of the American clerics to espouse the position that in order for there to be a Christian nation, the state must be separate from the Church.
Roger Williams was a Puritan minister, theologian, and author who founded Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and later the U.S. state of Rhode Island. He was a staunch advocate for religious freedom, separation of church and state, and fair dealings with Native Americans.
