Roger Williams

author

Roger Williams

d. 1683

A fierce defender of liberty of conscience, this 17th-century writer helped shape the idea that government should not control religion. His life and writings grew out of exile, debate, and the founding of Providence in colonial New England.

3 Audiobooks

A Key Into the Language of America, or an Help to the Language of the Natives in That Part of America Called New-England

A Key Into the Language of America, or an Help to the Language of the Natives in That Part of America Called New-England

by Roger Williams

The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience Discussed and Mr. Cotton's Letter Examined and Answered

The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience Discussed and Mr. Cotton's Letter Examined and Answered

by Roger Williams

Experiments of Spiritual Life & Health, and Their Preservatives

Experiments of Spiritual Life & Health, and Their Preservatives

by Roger Williams

About the author

Born in London around 1603, Roger Williams became a minister, religious thinker, and one of the most influential voices for freedom of worship in early America. After conflicts with Puritan authorities in Massachusetts Bay, he was banished and went on to found Providence, which became part of Rhode Island.

Williams is remembered for arguing that civil government and the church should remain separate, a view that was strikingly bold in his time. He also wrote about Native languages and cultures, including A Key into the Language of America, reflecting close contact with the Narragansett and other Indigenous communities.

His legacy reaches far beyond colonial Rhode Island. He is widely seen as an early champion of religious liberty and fairer dealings with Native peoples, and his ideas continued to influence American thinking long after his death in 1683.