The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience Discussed and Mr. Cotton's Letter Examined and Answered
- Reading level
- Plain English
- Price
- Free
About the book
"The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience Discussed and Mr.…" by Roger Williams is a philosophical treatise written in 1644. Structured as a dialogue between Truth and Peace, this controversial work challenges the Massachusetts Bay Colony's religious enforcement, advocating for a "wall of separation" between church and state. Williams argues for liberty of conscience as a God-given right and tolerance of diverse faiths. So inflammatory were his ideas that Parliament ordered copies burned, yet his arguments would later influence Locke, Jefferson, and the First Amendment itself.
- Church and state
- Cotton, John, 1584-1652
- Liberty of conscience
- Persecution
- Baptists
Updated September 2026. Public domain in the USA. Text and summary from Project Gutenberg eBook #65739. The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience Discussed and Mr. Cotton's Letter Examined and Answered on Wikipedia.
