Roger Williams was an English Puritan who migrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1631.
His book, “The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution,” was a passionate defense of religious liberty and a critique of the idea of a state church. Williams argued that no person or group had the right to impose their beliefs on others, and that freedom of conscience was a fundamental human right. His ideas were truly ahead of his time and laid the groundwork for the development of American ideas about religious liberty and individual rights. Williams is rightly celebrated as a champion of religious freedom and a founding father of American democracy.
Download or read The Bloody Tenant of Persecution by Roger Williams, Published 1644