Asserting Religious Liberty in the Face of Government Restriction: Thomas Helwys
The names William Bradford and William Brewster are familiar to Americans who know the story of the Mayflower pilgrims. These men led a daring group of British separatists across the Atlantic Ocean to settle an untamed wilderness in search of religious liberty. They were not seeking expansive estates or material prosperity. They wanted to live their lives free from the tyranny of a government that demanded all its subjects be a part of a single state church.
An often-overlooked detail in the story of the Mayflower pilgrims is that they did not sail for the New World from England, but rather from the Netherlands. Earlier, the authorities imprisoned several leaders of this separatist group from north central England. After their release, the local magistrate ordered them to leave the area. Knowing that the same persecution awaited them in anywhere in Britain, they determined to flee to Holland. From there, members of their group later ventured forth to America.
Among the separatists sailing to Holland was Thomas Helwys. Helwys was a wealthy barrister whose law practice coupled with an inheritance enabled him to act as an early benefactor for the Mayflower pilgrims. His financial aid allowed these people to afford their otherwise impossible journey.
However, Helwys did not accompany the pilgrims on to the New World. He held a growing conviction against the practice of infant baptism. This created a disagreement between him and the rest of the pilgrims. In addition, he did not believe that venturing far off from Europe was the proper course of action. He decided instead to return to England and attempt to persuade the authorities for the cause of religious liberty. Thomas Helwys eventually founded what many historians believe to be the first Baptist church in England.
Before Helwys departed for Holland, he wrote what became an influential book, A Short Declaration of the Mystery of Iniquity. This curious title comes from II Thessalonians 2 in which the apostle Paul writes of the activity of the devil in the world. Helwys identified part of the devil’s work to be government coercion of consciences in the area of religion. This book became one of the earliest arguments for religious liberty in the English language. With his writings seen as treason, the government confiscated his property, and eventually confined him in the Newgate Prison. He died there in 1616, still a prisoner, due to the hardships of prison life.
In the conclusion of his brilliant survey of the Christian influence in the development of religious liberty, Liberty in the Things of God, historian Robert Wilken observed, “Of the many persons who make an appearance in this book, as I looked back, one who stands out is Thomas Helwys.” Helwys stands out because in a time and place where liberty of conscience was almost unknown, he wrote, “men’s religion is between God and themselves. The king shall not answer for it. Neither may the king judge between God and man.” Helwys even advocated for the freedom of those with whom he disagreed. “Let them be heretics, Turks [Muslims], Jews, or whatsoever. It appears not to earthly powers to punish them in the least measure.”
The Bible’s teaching about individual accountability before God is the fountain from which springs the principle of religious liberty. Helwys simply applied biblical truth in a way that now seems obvious. In his day, it was anything but obvious. Though he died with few followers, his writings had a revolutionary impact on the Baptist understanding of the role of government in religion. Due in large part to the influence of later Baptists, these principles eventually found their way into the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution. We live in a nation that prohibits the establishment of a state church and also prohibits any government infringement on the free exercise of religion. Thanks for this is due in large part to a man of whom you probably never heard – Thomas Helwys.
David A. Oliver is the pastor of Ashley Baptist Church in Belding, MI.