5-30-26 SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE - ROGER WILLIAMS

Separation of Church and State Its Original Intent Post Roger Williams and Liberty of Conscience Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, also defended the separation of civil and spiritual authority. He taught that government could govern bodies and property, but not souls. The civil magistrate had no right to force men into religious belief. The Church was to use spiritual weapons—truth, preaching, persuasion, and exhortation—not the power of the State. This was a deeply biblical view of conscience. Faith must be free, or it is not faith. The State can punish crime, but it cannot command the heart. REMEMBER. Liberty of conscience is not rebellion against God. It is obedience to the way God designed faith. Independence. Freedom. Liberty. RIFL Society @RiflSociety2026