Roger Williams Worth Remembering

Thanks to Carlos at the Jesus Politics blog for calling attention to the essay on "Remembering Roger Williams" at Reasononline. Here's an excerpt:

The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution, released the same year as his friend John Milton?s defense of the free press, Areopagitica, argued for "soul liberty" for all people, "paganish, Jewish, Turkish, or anti-christian."

Such ideas were far ahead of their time -- perhaps even our time. Milton notably excluded Catholics in his case for free expression, and it would be 50 years before the English crown would officially tolerate dissent just among Protestants. Gaustad notes that Williams' ideas infused the charters of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and other colonies with protections for religious freedom. And his notions of a fully secular state found their way into the writings of John Locke, who would have a seminal influence on Jefferson, Madison, and other Founders.

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