[Note: Lately I've been thinking about the recent moves by the
religious right to try to assert dominance over the national scene,
so
I've decided to re-post two previous blog posts dealing with the issue
of religion in American history. The first is a response to the move by
the Indiana legislature and others to redefine "religious freedom" as
the freedom to discriminate against those who aren't of their own
particular belief. This was first published in 2008 and published again
in December of 2009. I no longer live in Rhode Island, but to me this
article represents the true spirit of freedom of religion and
should be relevant wherever we live in the US. In a couple of days I'll
re-publish another article on the uninformed idea that the US was
created as a "Christian nation". Both of these articles got much
positive response on this blog, but when published on the old Gather.com
they stirred up a bit of controversy.]
Rhode Island has a history of religious tolerance and freedom of
conscience. It was originally a sanctuary for those fleeing the
despotism of the Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony; Roger
Williams, founding father of the American Baptist movement, settled on
the mainland at the head of Narragansett Bay, while Anne Hutchinson and
her followers settled on Aquidneck Island (officially known as Rhode
Island). In 1663 the two entities united as a single colony and were
granted
a charter by Charles II, the charter itself being written by
Dr. John Clarke of Newport.
The key phrase in that charter declared: "...
that it is much on their hearts (if they may be permitted), to hold
forth a lively experiment, that a most flourishing civil state may stand
and best be maintained... with a full liberty in religious concerns." The charter further declared: "...
that our royal will and pleasure is, that no person within the said
colony, at any time hereafter, shall be in any wise molested, punished,
disquieted, or called in question, for any differences of opinion in
matters of religion, and do not actually disturb the civil peace of our
said colony; but that all and every person and persons may, from time to
time and at all times hereafter, freely and fully have and enjoy his
and their own judgments and consciences in matters of religious
concerns..."
The
freedom of conscience guaranteed in the charter created in Rhode
Island, and especially in Newport, a truly amazing religious diversity
that added to the cultural wealth of its society. The Society of Friends
(Quakers) became a major presence in Newport (which was the capital
city of the colony, and later the state, until well into the 19th
Century), and their
Great Meeting House (built
in 1699) eventually became the host of the New England Yearly Meeting
of the Society (the New England Yearly Meeting was one of the sources of
the Abolition movement).
In
1658 fifteen Jewish families moved to Newport after hearing of the
colony's "lively experiment" and founded the Congregation Jeshuat
Israel. In 1759 the congregation purchased land and hired famed colonial
architect Peter Harrison to design
Touro Synagogue (named
after Isaac Touro, the congregation's first spiritual leader). The
synagogue was finished and dedicated in 1763, and is still standing
today. Touro Synagogue also played a major role in establishing
religious freedom in the newly established United States when a member
of the congregation wrote to George Washington, who replied with his
famous "
To the Hebrew Congregation in Newport" , which stated that the government of the United States "gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance..."
The Quaker and Jewish presences in Newport aren't the only result of
that colonial charter, just the most famous. Newport is dotted with old
buildings that, at the start of their history, served as houses of
worship for small gatherings of believers: the Union Congregational
Church on Division St., the first free African-American church in
America; the Sabbatarian Meeting House on Touro St., now the home of the
Newport Historical Society; The John Clarke Memorial Church on Spring
St., one of the first churches of the American Baptist movement (and now
pastored by a good friend of mine, Paul Hanson, a very genial,
easy-going guy with a dry,
wicked
sense of humor); St. Paul's Methodist on Marlborough St., the first
Methodist church to sport a steeple; and a score of other former
churches which, like the Union Congregational church, have since been
converted to residences.
Because of the vision of the founders of the colony, and because of the
guarantee of freedom of conscience written into their colonial charter
at their request, Newport has a rich spiritual heritage and holds a
major place in the development of the concept of religious freedom in
the history of the United States. It's something we take pride in here,
and something we celebrate.
But look back at that original charter, that guarantee that within the
colony no one would be pressured, harassed, punished, or otherwise
disturbed because they enjoyed freedom of religious belief. How
refreshing that is! And how far from the current state of affairs in the
contemporary US, where we have a major effort being launched by
religious despots, direct descendants of the Puritans of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony, to impose their beliefs and their methods of
governance on the people and the government of the United States. People
who consider freedom of conscience to be "slack", "lax", "lazy", and
most important of all, a sin. People who think that those who believe
differently than they must either be converted or punished and removed
from "their" society. People who would re-write our history to
accommodate their own vision of what that history
should have been. People who view any kind of diversity as evil.
The colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations gained great
benefit from their practice of freedom of conscience. Given the present
situation, I think it's time that our entire country revived that
"lively experiment." What say you?
Photos & text © 2008 & 2009 by A. Roy Hilbinger
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