Petros Baptist Church

President Ford spoke to the Southern Baptist Convention in 1976.  Here’s an excerpt of his speech:

An early champion of religious freedom–which the great Baptist minister, George Truett, once called “the supreme contribution of the New World to the Old”–was Roger Williams, founder of Providence, forerunner of Jefferson, and giant among Baptists. The principle of democracy itself was rooted deeply in the Baptist Church long before there was a United States of America. Thomas Jefferson so admired the Baptist form of church government that he called it “the purest democracy in the world.”
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These rich contributions of religious liberty, democratic principles, social equality, evangelistic fervor, and moral strength have reserved for your people an honored place in American society. You have always jealously guarded the separation of church and state, but you have always believed that private morality and public service can and must go hand in hand.

Ford understood what being a Baptist meant. Baptists have historically stood for the separation of Church and State and liberty of conscience. As the 400th Anniversary of Baptists approaches in 2009, we will have ample opportunity to look back at our roots. And we should, lest we forget who we are.