About freedom of religion

Gently persuasive conversion

Experience and History throughout the Ages give irrevocable proof that - with the grace of God - mildness, patience, enlightenment and gentle instruction are the only means by which the misguided may be converted. And may such lack of Faith in the manifest Word of God and our Holy Evangelical Creed be far from us of the Clergy in the realm of Sweden, that we were to fear any undue influence by the fact that some Foreigners, though confessing to other Religions, might settle in our midst, without immediately accepting our Faith, but continuing, modestly and chastely, after their own Fashion, to serve Eternal and Almighty God, Our mutual Heavenly Father.

Memorandum on the Freedom of Religious Faith, 1779.

Opression in the name of Christianity

Pitiful it is to read in History of the English and Dutch Batavian Colonies, what a life the many Heathen there used to lead, and what astounding plentitude of goods was shipped therefrom, while during the tyranny they now have been subjected to for a multitude of years, the land has been largely devastated, and her population reduced to two thirds of what it once was. Nor can one without shedding tears regard the Spanish dominions in the Mexican territories, where the most delightful lands are completely raped by evident violence and aristocratic rule. Humanity weeps when it beholds Heathen lands prosper and grow under their own Rulers, but being spoilt whilst under an Authority which acts in the Holy Name of Jesus. Untold examples within Europe bear equal witness to the same situation.

Is Rural Trade Advantageous or Disadvantageous to the Kingdom, and to What Extent does it Affect the Progress or Decline in Means of Livelihood?, 1777.