Church and State Separation 1600

Today we as Americans don't think about separation of church and state much. But as America has more and more diversity—that is, people of different beliefs—this idea is being discussed a lot now. Where did this idea come from originally? Why is it so important to Americans to understand? We need to look to the beginning of the United States.

In the 1600's, many people came to America (that is, the New World) to seek adventure. Also, many came to make money. But more still came to have religious freedom, because their home countries had governments run by leaders of the church. Also, the Native Americans (Indians) were already in the "New World".

Because of freedom in the New World, Roger Williams, a great man of faith, came to America. Roger Williams was born in England around 1603. England had a government that was really run by the Church of England. Williams' family didn't believe they should follow the rules of the church. They were ‘Puritans', people who wanted to ‘purify' the church of old Catholic church customs. As a young man, Williams saw people punished who didn't attend the King's church. He thought it was wrong that a king or any government could decide what religion the citizens were.

When about 14, Williams was hired by Sir Edward Coke, a Puritan, to be a clerk. He proved himself an honest and hard worker; when he turned 18, Williams was sent by Sir Coke to Charterhouse School. Williams studied hard and was an excellent student. He was about to graduate and get his secondary degree; however, a serious problem came up for him. To get his degree he would have to sign a pledge to the Church of England stating his loyalty. Williams could not in good faith do that, because he didn't believe in the Church of England's rules. He finished his studies without his degree.

With the education he had, he took a job to become a private minister for a Puritan family in London. Once, when he got sick, a maid named Mary Barnard helped nurse him. Later, on December 12, 1629, he and Mary got married. Now, at that time, the English government was being very hard on Puritans and anyone not participating in the Church of England. So a year later, he and Mary boarded the ship name Lyon and headed for the Massachusetts Bay Colony to gain religious freedom.

In the fall of 1634, Roger Williams was asked by the leaders of the Salem Church in Massachusetts Bay Colony to be the official minister. As minister, he used his job to teach the church goers what he believed about religious freedom. He also taught them his ideas of the civil government authority should be separate from church authority. Believing citizens of a town or colony should have to participate in paying taxes to support government where one lived was a necessity but having the freedom to chose what church or faith to follow was a freedom of one's spirit,