e
In his dissertation, John Leland: American Prophet of
Religious Individualism, J. Bradley Creed rightly acknowledges that, “A
cause which Baptists champion in their heritage is the witness for complete
religious liberty.”[1] Looking at the early stages of Baptists in
America, one can see how this cause developed, and has ultimately become
definitive of Baptist identity. Perhaps
the greatest contribution that has been made in this regard is the first
amendment to the United States Constitution, which reads,
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and
to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.[2]
While the centuries have proven that this amendment is paramount to
American ideology concerning Church and State, i.e., separation, early colonies
and even the Union itself were not in agreement on these matters when America
was established in 1776. American icons
like Thomas Jefferson and James Madison would fight for these principles, and
ultimately win the day. However, perhaps
the greatest influence of all came from Baptist pastor John Leland, who can
ultimately be attributed with pressuring Madison, and thus assuring the
ratification of the aforementioned amendment.
John Leland’s strong belief in religious
liberty first met opposition when Leland was only three years old. His father, James Leland, had been convinced
of believer’s baptism, but was ultimately persuaded to the contrary by his
mother and local ministers. However,
after having his first child baptized, James had a conflict of conscience and
presumably reverted back to his previous position. James Leland would go on to have six more
children, none of which he would have baptized.
Then, once more James Leland changed his conviction, and summonsed a
minister to baptize all six of the unbaptized Leland children one Sunday
afternoon. John, one of the six, heard
the news and took flight. Running down a
hill, Leland fell, and was overtaken by a family maid. He was then cleaned up and baptized “…not (as)
a voluntary candidate, but a reluctant subject, forced against my will.”[3]
The man who would go on to fight for religious liberty, and even pressure
statesmen to ratify the Bill of Rights, experienced religion forced upon him at
an early age. It would be difficult to
imagine that this event was ever far from the mind of the man who would become
the “articulate representative for Baptist concerns for religious liberty and
freedom of conscience.”[4]
Growing
up in Grafton, Massachusetts, John Leland was not known for his pious
behavior. Although he was fond of
reading the Bible, this was likely a consequence of his father’s limited
library. John Leland had aspirations of
becoming a lawyer, and was “attached to frolicking and foolish wickedness.”[5] By his own admission, Leland recognized his
folly, but felt some event must precipitate his conversion. In the summer of 1772, Leland experienced
such an event. On his way home from an
evening out, the words, “You are not about the work which you have got to do”,
spoke to Leland from the skies.[6] Some
time soon thereafter Leland has a conviction of conscience and lost his
appetite for his previous delights.
Around
the same time that John Leland heard the voice in the skies, a traveling
preacher named Elhanan Winchester came through Grafton. Leland took particular interest in Winchester
when a certain Priscilla was converted under Winchester’s preaching. Apparently Priscilla had been a former date
of Leland. According to Leland, this
conversion “troubled the waters”, and he turned to reading scripture. A few weeks later Winchester returned to
Grafton and this time Leland responded internally, making vows to God to
forsake sin and pursue God. For several
weeks Leland was troubled, not knowing if his conversion had be legitimate,
until he received the waters of baptism in June of 1774. From this point on, Leland felt strengthened
and converted.
In
1776 John Leland was married to Sally Divine.
Shortly thereafter the two left Massachusetts and moved to Virginia
where Leland took the pastorate at Mount Poney.
Here Leland would preach for fifteen years before publishing his most
renowned contribution, The Rights of
Conscience Inalienable, in 1791.
This work concluded that the evils of establishment of religion were in
direct opposition to the freedom of conscience given to humanity by their
God. Consequently, such establishment
must be rejected as sinful and at odds with God.[7]
This belief would prove to be definitive of Leland’s faith, and ultimately lead
Leland to be of the utmost influence in the drafting and ratification of the
United States Bill of Rights and the First Amendment in particular.
After
his move from Massachusetts to Virginia in 1777, Leland began fighting for
religious liberty as he opposed all considerations of a National church. While this debate raged politically, there
were many within the church that ventured into the conversation. Leland of course, was at the forefront. When Jefferson retired in 1781, James Madison
became the political champion of the Baptist cause. Although the debates regarding issues of
Church and State held strong support by many outside the Baptist faith, there
can be no doubt that this conversation was of primary importance to the
Baptists, and thus pastors like Leland ultimately sided with Madison, despite
strong affinities towards his opponent Patrick Henry.[8]
Unfortunately for the Baptists, Madison was slow to implement legislation
guaranteeing religious freedom and liberty, that is until a meeting with John
Leland tilted the direction of separation legislation in the direction of the
Baptist cause.
In
the minds of many Baptists, James Madison “dropped the ball” in 1788 by failing
to demand the implementation of a Bill of Rights in the Federal Constitution
drafted by the Philadelphia Constitutional Congress. Disappointment grew within the Baptist
church, and Madison would ultimately have to be prompted to act in their
favor. This prompting would come from
none other than John Leland.[9]
On
his way back from Congress and a meeting with George Washington, Madison
stopped off in Fredericksburg where he received a message from a colleague
urging him to meet with John Leland.
According to the telegram, Madison’s election to the Virginia ratifying
convention depended on it. The meeting
would occur at Leland’s farm where a manuscript by Eugene Bucklin Bowen
notes, “Both Madison and Leland were
candidates for the Virginia Convention on ratifying the Constitution.”[10] If correct, Bowen’s observations suggest
that Leland was running against Madison and only withdrew based on the
agreement that Madison would vigorously fight for amending the
Constitution. Madison would go on to win
the seat by a narrow margin of 168-158, proving that with Leland thrown on the
ballot, Madison would have surely been defeated.[11] Whatever
influence Leland had amongst voters was leveraged in an attempt to assure
religious freedom in the legislation of the newly formed republic.
Madison
would go on to win the fight for the ratification of the Bill of Rights and the
First Amendment. While Baptists were not
immediately satisfied with Madison’s efforts, ultimately they would win the
day. Leland would continue to fight just
as vigorously as ever, writing correspondences to George Washington and others
outlining his strong opposition to a Nation religion and, even more relevant,
any lack of defense in the form of legislation against such a religion. Joseph Martin Dawson brilliantly summarizes
Leland’s efforts when he pens, “If the researchers of the world were to be
asked who was most responsible for the American guaranty for religious liberty,
their prompt reply would be ‘James Madison’; but if James Madison might answer,
he would as quickly reply, ‘John Leland and the Baptists.”’[12]
The
American mentality of separation between Church and State seems so ingrained
into the minds of United States citizens, that it is difficult to imagine a
time when any other alternative was viable.
However, history shows that this was once a great debate that was not
solved overnight. Many suggested a
national government, state governments, and even Sabbath laws to prevent work
on Sundays. While these notions seem
quite alien to most Americans in the twenty-first century, it is important to
note the struggles of the Founders to assure complete separation. The work of Jefferson, Madison, and others
must be held in the highest regard.
However, as the story of John Leland reveals, many ecclesial leaders
fought valiantly, and even leveraged their assets, in an effort to pressure
political entities into ratifying separation legislation. Of these ecclesial leaders, John Leland is
atop the list.
Perhaps
it was his early childhood experiences of forced religion, or perhaps it was an
identification with the Baptist faith that created such a powerful force that
was John Leland. Whatever the case may
be it is clear that despite his religious views, Leland held the conviction
that religion should be a private affair that should remain unmolested by
governments or bureaucracies. The beauty
of Leland’s conviction is that it was not limited to those of Leland’s faith,
but to all persons of all faiths. While
it is easy to take the separation of Church and State for granted, Leland had
the foresight to dedicate himself to the protection of religious liberty at a
time when separation was not the norm.
Without the contributions of Leland, it is likely that Jefferson,
Madison, and others would have been allowed to deprioritize separation
legislation, and America may have never experienced religious liberty to the
extent that we do today. Perhaps the
words of Don M. Fearheily summarize Leland’s contributions best,
He was a Baptist. He was a preacher. He lived during the stirring times of the
Revolution. He fought for religious
freedom and saw the triumph of his ideals.
Baptists owe a lot to John Leland.
So does America.[13]
[1] John
Bradley Creed, John Leland: American Prophet of Religious Individualism
(Ph.D. dissertation, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1986), p. 7.
[3] John
Leland, The Writings of John Leland,
ed. L.F. Greene (New York: Arno Press
and the New York Times, 1969), p. 10.
[5] Leland,
p. 10.
[6] Leland,
p. 10.
[7] Pamela
R. and Keith E. Durso, The Story of
Baptists in the United States (Brentwood, TN: Baptist History and Heritage Society, 2006),
pp. 63-64.
[8] Joseph
Martin Dawson, Baptists and the American
Republic (Nashville, TN: Broadman
Press, 1956), p. 103.
[9] Ibid. ,
p. 103.
[10] Madison Papers, Library of Congress.
[11] Dawson,
pp. 82-117.
[12] Ibid. ,
p. 117.
