The

separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and Jurisprudence, jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the State (polity), state. Conceptually, the term refers to ...

is a philosophical concept that Baptists, since the early days in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, together with other

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

, have originally defended in the

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

civic sphere.

History

Historically, Baptists supported the separation of the Church from state control in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Some important figures in the struggle were John Smyth,

Thomas Helwys Thomas Helwys (c. 1575 – 1616) was an English barrister (lawyer), Puritan leader, and theologian. His theological beliefs is one of the forming basis of the Baptist tradition. In the early 17th century, Helwys was the principal formulator of ...

, Leonard Busher,

Roger Williams Roger Williams (March 1683) was an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Pl ...

, John Clarke, Isaac Backus, and John Leland.

English Baptists

In 1612 John Smyth wrote, "the magistrate is not by virtue of his office to meddle with religion, or matters of conscience". That same year,

wrote that the King of England could "command what of man he will, and we are to obey it," but, concerning the church—"with this Kingdom, our lord the King hath nothing to do." In 1614, Leonard Busher wrote what is believed to be the earliest Baptist treatise dealing exclusively with the subject of religious liberty.

American Baptists

The Danbury Baptist Association sent a letter, in October 7 1801, to the newly elected President

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

, expressing concern over the lack in their state constitution of explicit protection of religious liberty, and against a government establishment of religion. In their letter to the President, they affirmed that "Our Sentiments are uniformly on the side of Religious Liberty": Baptists in Connecticut were concerned that a religious majority might "reproach their chief Magistrate... because he will not, dare not assume the prerogatives of Jehovah and make Laws to govern the Kingdom of Christ," thus establishing a state religion at the cost of the liberties of religious minorities.

"Make no law"

Thomas Jefferson's response, dated January 1, 1802, concurs with the Danbury Baptist Association's views on religious liberty, and the accompanying separation of civil government from concerns of religious doctrine and practice. This doctrine, known as the "wall of separation" or "strict separationism," would later become highly influential in 20th century Supreme Court understandings of the relationship between church and state. The phrase "

" does not appear in the United States Constitution, despite its wide use and origin from a founding father. The relevance of this reply is a subject of heated debate, with scholars such as Robert Boston emphasizing its importance, and others such as Mark David Hall arguing that the letter was a historical outlier.

Contemporary Baptist views in America

In the U.S. today, a group of Baptists believe the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

was formed as a Christian nation by the Founding Fathers. There is neither a unifying nor a codified doctrinal position among American Baptists. Interpretations of the meaning of "separation of church and state" vary among different Baptist affiliations. However, many Baptists in the United States still believe in the wall of separation and support maintaining it. For example, fifteen Baptist organizations, representing collectively over ten million Baptists in America, collaborate with one another to protect religious liberty and the separation of church and state through their funding of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. Liberty of conscience is also another concept historically defended by Baptists, and many Baptists continue to believe the best course for obtaining and securing liberty of Christian conscience is through the separation of the Church from state.

References