First Baptist Church of Saint Paul
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A Free Church
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The First Amendment guarantees your religous liberty and church/state separation. Frankly, we're proud that we instigated it.
You see, Madison and Jefferson just assumed religious liberty. When they wrote the founding documents it wasn't even mentioned. A strong minded Virginioan, named John Leland, wanted it in writing because he had been persecuted for his religious convictions.
Sally Leland devised the strategy to get it down in black and white. Madison needed votes for his election to the Convention on Ratification of the Constitution. She figured, why not trade him organized votes for a promise to introduce an amendment to the Constitution assuring religious liberty? Madison accepted the offer, and as they say, the rest is history. John and Sally Leland were American Baptists. So are we. We're proud of our tradition of freedom, independence, and local autonomy. Today we're 1,600,000 strong with nearly 6,000 congregations across the country. We still have strong convictions about religious liberty. As an American, you're free. You're free to join this church, that church, any church or no church at all. While you're deciding...you'll want to consider the people who gave you the choice in the first place!
Your freedom of choice says a lot about our spirit and convictions as a free church