Roger Williams Religion

Freedom to Prosecute Religion The New World is often thought of as a safe haven from religious persecution. Many future colonists had been persecuted for not accepting their countries' religious doctrine and were willing to travel long distances in search of religious freedom. A vast land away from the parenting company was a perfect place for a fresh start. Religious freedom would still be far from grasp, as many religious sects would continue their homelands traditions of persecution for many more years.

Puritans

Puritans, unlike the Pilgrims (who sought to completely separate from the Church of England), wanted to purify the Church. As followers of John Calvin, they believed that God was all powerful and completely sovereign. A person’s

“Williams argued that the Puritans were hypocrites because they remained within the Church of England and that no one should be able to force a person to pray” (People & Ideas: Roger Williams). Church on the Sabbath was not necessary for a person to achieve salvation. He also spoke out against taking land from the Indians without any sort of payment. Williams spoke of “soul liberty”, or liberty of conscience. All people had the inherent right, given to them by their creator, to make their own choice about faith. He would also advocate for separation of church and state. These beliefs were not popular with many Puritans, and in 1635 he would be banished from the colony. After his banishment he would “purchase land from the Narragansett Indians and found the first permanent white settlement in Providence in 1636”

As many as 60 people would show up to meetings held in the Hutchinson house. Anne claimed that God had spoken to her and that she no longer needed a minister to interpret the word of God. For Puritans the Bible was the ultimate authority, which in turn had always been interpreted by Ministers. Anne would be brought to trial and banished for proclaiming God could speak to her directly.

Salem Witch Trials A belief of Puritan society was that Satan was always trying to condemn people to hell. Anything that seemed to be a disadvantage to the colony would be viewed as the work of Satan.

In February of 1692 a colonist would admit to working for Satan. This admission to Satanism would turn the town of Salem into a whirlwind of side shows and deceit. In 1689 Samuel Parris, after being invited by John Putnam, moved to Salem to preach. A few years later Parris's daughter, Betty, would become extremely ill. Betty would dive under furniture, complain of fever, and contort in pain. A short time later many of Betty's playmates would begin to show similar symptoms. A doctor examine the girls and could not find a medical reason for the symptoms. It was concluded that the girls must be suffering from some sort of supernatural torment. A witch must have caused the girls to behave in such a