The story of our most important freedom 

Baptist church member and historian Adrian Gray introduces his new book, which shows how we in Britain won the right to freedom of belief and expression – but also how fragile this may be 

 
 
I have been interested for many years in the contribution of early Baptist pioneers like Smyth, Helwys and Murton to British thinking about religious liberty – to the extent that this has become a ‘distinctive’ of the Baptists in general.

My wider work at a national level in education has shown me that the challenging issues around freedom of belief are rarely discussed in schools because teachers lack the confidence.

On top of this, in recent years a series of cases has shown there is confusion about what spoken words or social media comments about religion may get you arrested, cause you to lose your job, or end up with public humiliation. Many recent cases have shown that the police themselves are muddled and also make mistakes.

To tackle this, I  have written Freedom of Belief in Britain to provide an absorbing summary of how thinking about freedom and the law itself have developed over centuries. It is a story of terrible repression, painful martyrdom but also sometimes heroic struggle to build a better future for us to enjoy today.

We meet martyrs at the stake, Quakers in the stocks, even Salvation Army musicians in prison, but we also meet atheists and ‘freethinkers’ who fought for the right to deny any religious belief. 

The role of the Baptists, emphasised from the start of the book, is key. The book tells you how we in Britain won the right to freedom of belief and expression but also how fragile this may be.

I believe that even Baptists are unaware of the history and development of this issue. Freedom of Belief in Britain has been written to help meet an urgent need for a single volume book that can help guide us through one of the most challenging problems of our time – what we can or cannot say or do in line with our own beliefs or unbelief. 

It provides an effective summary briefing for church leaders and those engaging in public life in particular.
 

Freedom of Belief in Britain by Adrian Gray is available for £12 from good bookshops or direct from Trent Witham Books here.
 
Adrian Gray is a member of Retford Baptist Church