The English Baptist Thomas Helwys was the first ever to propose religious freedom for all people. He was born 450 years ago and died 410 years ago in prison for his major text on religious freedom ("A Short Declaration of the Mystery of Iniquity"). Although many Christians before Helwys had argued against religious persecution or pleaded for greater toleration, Thomas Helwys took a decisive step further. Religious freedom no longer depended on who a person was or what that person believed. Religious freedom no longer depended on who a person was or what that person believed.