Religious liberty is the nursing mother of all liberty. Without it all other forms of liberty must soon wither and die. The Baptists grasped this conception of liberty in its full-orbed glory, from the very beginning.

Their contention has been, is now, and must ever be, that it is the God-given and indefeasible right of every human being, to worship God or not, according to the dictates of his conscience; and, as long as he does not infringe upon the rights of others, he is to be held accountable to God alone for all his religious beliefs and practices.

July 1939

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Gender-inclusive version:

Religious liberty is the nursing mother of all liberty. Without it all other forms of liberty must soon wither and die. The Baptists grasped this conception of liberty in its full-orbed glory, from the very beginning.

Their contention has been, is now, and must ever be, that it is the God-given and indefeasible right of every human being, to worship God or not, according to the dictates of one’s conscience; and, as long as one does not infringe upon the rights of others, one is to be held accountable to God alone for all one’s religious beliefs and practices.

July 1939