Providence: The Story of Roger Williams
"Musical License"

Casting: Ages 11-18 yrs
Audiences: 7+UP
Length: 45min
Themes:

Summary:
A court room drama, Roger Williams, a Puritan, and Minister /and Reformed English theologian, faced banishment for advocating for religious freedom. He believed that soul, liberty, and freedom of conscience were gifts from God, and thought freedom of religion a natural right which demanded that church and state be separated. Facing a corrupt Church of England, Williams argued for fair dealings with Native Americans, and was one of the first abolitionists in North America, to have organized the first attempt to prohibit slavery in any of the British American colonies. He asserted that all should be free to follow their own convictions in matters of conscience and spiritual religious matters.

The Massachusetts authorities were not pleased with Williams. In December 1633, they summoned him to appear before the General Court in Boston to defend his tract attacking the King and the charter. Accused of treason, finally, in October 1635, the General Court tried Williams and convicted him of sedition and heresy for spreading "diverse, new, and dangerous opinions".

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