Why was Roger Williams expelled from Massachusetts?

In essence, the Massachusetts Bay Colony expelled Roger Williams for having the wrong beliefs.  His expulsion also happened because he was a threat to those who held political power.  This happened in 1635.

Roger Williams got in trouble for two main reasons.  First, he did not think the Puritan church in New England was pure enough.  He thought it should break more definitively away from the Church of England.  Second, he argued that the government should not be able to tell people what sort of religious behaviors they should engage in.  This was a real problem in a society in which the government and the church were so closely connected.

Because of ideas like this, Williams was expelled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Why did Roger Williams leave Massachusetts?

Roger Williams was a religious leader in Massachusetts who was expelled due to his “dangerous” ideas. He was an advocate for religious freedom and wanted to completely separate from the Church of England. The Puritans of Massachusetts wanted to reform the church and believed that if they lived according to scripture and set a good example, then the Church of England would follow. As an assistant to the minister in the Plymouth Colony, Williams’s teachings were tolerated well in the beginning. Over time, Williams wanted more separation from the Church of England and started questioning the validity of the colonial charters. He openly condemned the King, but in court this issue was smoothed over. Two years later, he was ordered to appear in court twice to explain his teachings as an acting pastor that were deemed to be erroneous and dangerous. He was removed from his church position but continued meeting with some followers in his home to spread his ideas. In 1635, he was banished from the colony as a result.