Roger Williams (theologian)
Roger Williams (c. 1603 – between January and March 1683) was an English Protestant theologian who was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. In 1636, he began the colony of Providence Plantation, which provided a refuge for religious minorities. Williams started the first Baptist church in America, the First Baptist Church of Providence. He was a student of Native American languages and an advocate for fair dealings with Native Americans. Williams was arguably the very first abolitionist in North America, having organized the first attempt to prohibit slavery in any of the original thirteen colonies.
Read more about Roger Williams (theologian): Life in America, Death, Writings, Indian Language and Culture, Tributes and Memorials
Famous quotes containing the words roger and/or williams:
“Draw round beloved and bitter men,
Draw round and raise a shout;
The ghost of Roger Casement
Is beating on the door.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“The business of love is
cruelty which,
by our wills,
we transform
to live together.”
—William Carlos Williams (1883–1963)