In February 1631, the ship Lyon arrived in Boston harbor, carrying a group of migrants seeking to escape religious and political oppression suffered in England. Among them was Roger Williams.
His migrant status didn’t end with his arrival in Boston, however. He and his wife soon moved north to Salem, seeking a less restrictive environment. But again, he encountered religious restrictions imposed by both church and state.
That summer he migrated again, south to Plymouth. After a little more than a year there, he and his growing family were on the move again, heading back to Salem.
At first, it appeared his migrant status had come to an end. The town welcomed him, and the church unofficially named him their teacher. The Williams family moved into a comfortable house and began to settle down. He served the church and continued to develop relationships with local Native Americans.
But the political leaders in Boston were concerned about his unorthodox views, especially regarding Native American ownership of land. They met with Williams numerous times, attempting to convince him of his error. In an attempt to appease the leadership, he agreed to keep silent on this issue.
But before long, it was clear silence in the face of oppression is not a viable option.
Other issues demanded public comment. Most significantly, he became clear in his opposition to the government’s enforcement of the first four of the Ten Commandments, believing government had no role to play in one’s personal faith.
This challenged the unity of church and state that was essential to the Puritan vision of the “city on the hill.” It could not go unchallenged.
Roger Williams
Despite attempts to convince him of his “errors,” Williams would not yield. In the leaders’ view, this left them with no alternative but to banish him as a threat to the unity of the colony.
The ministers made this recommendation to the magistrates, and the magistrates agreed. Williams was officially banished and presented with a removal order telling him to self-deport within six weeks.
It was November, and because Williams was ill, the magistrates permitted him to stay until spring, provided he did not speak publicly. With no official position in a church, he agreed. He did, however, continue to meet with a small group in his home.
The magistrates saw this as a violation of their agreement and made plans to deport him to England. Agents were sent to Salem to arrest him. Warned that he would soon be arrested and sent back to England and near certain death if he remained anywhere in the area, Williams left Salem and began a journey in the wilderness.
Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, is received by members of the Naragansett tribe. (New York Public Library, public domain)
There he found sanctuary with Native Americans he had befriended and whose language he had learned. The food and shelter they provided enabled him to regain his strength and in the months ahead, establish a community that became Providence, Rhode Island, where the religious freedom he sought became a reality.
Roger Williams was a migrant who left the oppression of his native land only to be rejected by his new land. He was banished and told to self-deport; then almost arrested and deported to a country to face almost certain death. To avoid this fate, he fled his adopted home, finding sanctuary among those who cared for him and who kept him alive.
Seeking a freer expression of faith, he shared in the establishment of The First Baptist Church in America. His is a story that still offers challenging insights about oppression and freedom, brutality and compassion.
Jeff Jones served on the faculty of Andover Newton Theological, as a pastor of several churches, and on the staff of ABC Educational Ministries. He is a member of the Board of the American Baptist Historical Society. His most recent book is Being Church in a Liminal Time.