Which of the following most accurately describes the attitude of seventeenth century Puritans toward religious liberty?

Segment 2

Religious Tolerance

The tiny Plymouth Colony soon heard reports from England that were not good. Under the new king, Charles I, things were even worse for the religious dissidents—who called themselves "Puritans." They hoped to "purify" the Church of England. But the king wouldn't let them. So between 1630 and 1640, 20,000 Puritans sailed for New England

. They wanted to practice their religion in peace. They wanted to build a holy community where people would live by the rules of the Bible. They expected their Massachusetts Bay Colony to be an example for all the world. One of the colony's governors, John Winthrop, explained: "We must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us."

The Puritans were seeking freedom, but they didn't understand the idea of toleration. They came to America to find religious freedom—but only for themselves. They had little tolerance or even respect for the Pequot Indians, who lived in nearby Connecticut and Rhode Island. They called them heathens. As more and more Puritan settlers moved into their land, the Pequots got angry and resisted. In 1637 war broke out, and the Puritans, helped by Mohican and Narraganset Indian allies, massacred 600 Pequots in their fort, burning many alive. William Bradford, who was there, wrote, "It was a fearful sight to see them � frying in the fire � but the victory seemed � sweet � over so proud � an enemy."

Ministers like the Reverend John Cotton

preached that it was wrong to practice any religion other than Puritanism. Those who did would be helping the devil. They believed they followed the only true religion so everyone should be forced to worship as they did. "[Tolerance is] liberty � to tell lies in the name of the Lord," said John Cotton.

But one Puritan minister named Roger Williams

disagreed. He said, "Forced worship stinks in God's nostrils."

Roger Williams didn't believe in forcing others to believe as he did. He thought that killing or punishing in the name of Christianity was sinful. He respected the beliefs of others, including the Native Americans. He said that church members should pay the bills for their church instead of taking the money out of everyone's general taxes. Then he started preaching that land shouldn't be forcibly taken from the Indians. He said,

"[It is] against the testimony of Christ Jesus for the civil state to impose upon the souls of the people a religion�. Jesus never called for the sword of steel to help the sword of spirit ."

Those were strange ideas in seventeenth-century Massachusetts. Williams was arrested and banished. He fled south, bought land from the Indians, and started a colony called Providence

. It would become the capital of Rhode Island . In Roger Williams's time it attracted many who were not wanted elsewhere, especially those who were searching for "freedom of conscience"—the freedom to believe and worship as they wished. Williams welcomed everyone, Quakers and Catholics, Jews and atheists, even when he disagreed with their religion. Centuries later, a biographer named Edmund Morgan wrote this about Williams's ideas: "We may praise him � for his defense of liberty and the separation of church and state. He deserves the tribute � but it falls short of the man. His greatness was simpler. He dared to think."

journal article

Puritanism and Science: A Reinterpretation

The Historical Journal

Vol. 22, No. 3 (Sep., 1979)

, pp. 535-560 (26 pages)

Published By: Cambridge University Press

//www.jstor.org/stable/2638654

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Journal Information

The Historical Journal, celebrating the publication of its 50th volume this year, continues to publish papers on all aspects of British, European, and world history since the fifteenth century. The best contemporary scholarship is represented. Contributions come from all parts of the world. The journal aims to publish some thirty-five articles and communications each year and to review recent historical literature, mainly in the form of historiographical reviews and review articles. The journal provides a forum for younger scholars making a distinguished debut as well as publishing the work of historians of established reputation. Instructions for Contributors at Cambridge Journals Online

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Cambridge University Press (www.cambridge.org) is the publishing division of the University of Cambridge, one of the world’s leading research institutions and winner of 81 Nobel Prizes. Cambridge University Press is committed by its charter to disseminate knowledge as widely as possible across the globe. It publishes over 2,500 books a year for distribution in more than 200 countries. Cambridge Journals publishes over 250 peer-reviewed academic journals across a wide range of subject areas, in print and online. Many of these journals are the leading academic publications in their fields and together they form one of the most valuable and comprehensive bodies of research available today. For more information, visit //journals.cambridge.org.

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