Question

In 150 words or less, provide one example of how Roger Williams's views were similar to the other Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and one way in which they were different.

Answer 1

I think both Williams and the Puritans have the same goal when they came into New England. Both parties did not come to the country to promote religion. However, they differ in their perceptions about purity. For examples, the Puritans had considered others as not pure and created a perimeter fence that would separate them from the others. Williams believed that his fellow Englishmen have a more extreme belief and thus went to question the traditions and practices of the Puritans. Thus, the colonizers have found him ungodly and a threat to them.

Answer 2

Roger Williams himself was a Puritan. He was the founder of the state of Rhode Island. Williams was also known for his advocacy in the separation of church from the state. Therefore, his ideas differed from other Puritans although he himself was a Puritan.

In comparison with Puritanism, Williams embraced the Baptist principles and radical ideas like "soul liberty" which he claimed that no one could identify which religion is the true one. These ideas made his banishment from Massachusetts.

Except these ideas, his approach was the same towards Puritanism. He was a Puritan priest and he moved to the New World like other Puritan leaders.