Complete Research Paper

Robert Kyle Miller
History 400
April 30, 2014

1

Religious Freedom in Virginia
Decades of religious turmoil in Virginia, and the events that lead to their ultimate
religious freedom in 1786, proved to be influential in the drafting of the first amendment,
specifically the religious clauses, to the United States Constitution. Beginning in the 1740s,
dissenters, or those who did not follow the Anglican Church, began to disrupt the church and
state relations in Virginia. The American Revolution intensified the tension between dissenting
sects and members of the Anglican Church. In 1776, once they decided to participate in the war
for independence, Virginia held state conventions for the purpose of drafting a new state
constitution. Many of those not affiliated with the Anglican faith lobbied against taxes that
supported the Established Church. Because the Anglican Church was associated with the Church
of England, many citizens wanted to remove the Anglican faith from its position as the
established church of Virginia. Although a bill was passed in late 1776 that exempted dissenters
from paying taxes to support the Anglican Church, Thomas Jefferson, with the help of James
Madison, began a decade long battle that ultimately ended Virginias support for an established
church. Jefferson and Madison believed that religion was a private endeavor between an
individual and God, and that it was against the natural rights of man for a governing body to
interfere with that relationship. The struggle for religious freedom and separation of church and
state ended in January of 1786, when Jeffersons, Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was
enacted and put into law. In order to realize the effects and consequences of Jeffersons religious
statute, the context of the religious movements and traditions must be acknowledged.
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History 400
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Established state churches were in the majority in the original thirteen colonies. Nine of
the thirteen colonies, including Virginia, contained established state churches.
1
The majority of
Virginians identified themselves with Anglicanism, or the Church of England, which was the
established state church in Virginia during the 18
th
century. Anglican is the Latin term for
English. Anglicanism formed in the sixteenth century during the English Reformation. It
served as a middle ground between the Roman Catholicism and Calvanism to establish early
teachings of Christianity.
2
It was Catholicism and Calvanism that tried to gain control of the
English government during the English Reformation. Queen Elizabeth I attempted to use
Anglicanism to find a medium between the two sides in order to restore early Christian teachings
within England. The Anglicans found discrepancies with both the Catholic and Calvinists
interpretations of Christianity. They held that the Catholic teachings added far too much man-
made doctrine, while Calvanism left out many important teachings of early Christianity.
3

Beginning in 1642, the General Assembly of Virginia mapped out parishes that
contained multiple churches and a minister. They also established a governing body called a
vestry.
4
The vestries levied taxes on their parishes to pay for clergy salary and the reparation of
church buildings. The vestrymen became increasingly powerful in 1658 when the General
Assembly passed a piece of legislation that gave them authority over all matters concerning
their agreements with their ministers, the poore and other things concerning the parish or
parishoners respectively be reffered to their owne ordering and disposeing from time to time as

1
David Holmes, The Faiths of the Founding Fathers (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.), 34.
2
Holmes, The Faiths of the Founding Fathers, 35.
3
4
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they shall think fitt.
5
In turn, this gave powerful leverage to the vestries over the poor to ensure
they acted accordingly to the laws of the Anglican Church. The power of the vestries reflects the
hierarchical nature of society in colonial Virginia. The vestry and the colonial government both
acted as governing bodies. A man had to be affiliated with the Anglican Church in order to hold
a position in the colonial government. Because the government respected the established church,
it enacted laws for compulsory attendance to church meetings. All were required to attend
divine service at least once in four weeks, under penalty of a fine of five shillings or fifty pounds
of tobacco, for failure to comply.
6
Coincidentally, the same men that passed these laws
requiring attendance were also rulers of the church affairs.
7
Members of the vestry were
involved with both church and state institutions and held a great deal of power throughout the
16
th
and 17
th
century in Virginia. The power of the vestrys position explains churches ability to
control the everyday lives of the Virginia citizens. Aside from a few minor disagreements, the
vestry functioned uncontested until the mid-18
th
century until two dissenting sects, the
Presbyterians and Baptists, disrupted the traditional relations between the church and state. On
one hand, the Presbyterians sought political assistance for more freedom to publically worship.
On the other hand, the Baptists did not have a political agenda, but their mistreatment by the
members of government and the established church personified the need for change in Virginia.
Up until the early 1740s, anyone that was born in Virginia was considered a member of
the established Anglican Church. The effects of the Great Awakening in Virginia would soon

5
G.R. Elton, England under the Tudors. (London, 1974), 14-15.
6
Rhys Isaac, The Transformation of Virginia, 1740-1790. (Chapel Hill: Published for the Institute of Early
American History and Culture, Williamsburg, VA., by University of North Carolina Press, 1982.), 58
7
Frank Lambert, The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University
Press, 2003), 54.
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challenge that tradition. The Great Awakening was a cultural and religious movement that
started in the early eighteenth century, and focused on an evangelical faith said to give followers
a new beginning. The term dissenter was used to describe those that did not follow the
established Church of England. Though there were certainly members of society that did not
claim the Anglican Church, they did not hold services dedicated to a different faith. The first
group to begin holding religious meetings was located in Hanover County. Samuel Morris, a
brick layer, led these meetings where they read sermons from the great evangelical preacher,
George Whitfield.
8
In the decade prior, Whitfield preached in Williamsburg, but his sermons
sustained traction. News of Morriss meetings quickly spread throughout the colony, and caught
the attention of the New Side Presbyterian minister, William Robinson. After hearing a few of
Robinsons sermons, Morriss group identified themselves as Presbyterian rather than
Anglicans.
9
As the group began to expand, Anglican ministers expressed a great deal of
resentment toward the New Side ministers. The agitation showed how hostile the ministers were
toward a different sect of Christianity within Virginia. They claimed that the itinerant
preachers were not licensed to conduct their meetings. Some Anglican ministers demanded aid
from the government. Their demands were quelled on April 3, 1747 when the governor and
Council issued a stiff proclamation that calling for all Itinerant Preachers to be restrained.
10

The government believed that the New Side preachers itinerancy caused major chaos within
society. Governor William Gooch described the New Side preachers as those who make it their
Study to screw up the People to the greatest heights of religious Phrenzy, and then leave them in

8
Thomas Kidd, The Great Awakening in Virginia. Encyclopedia Virginia, (Virginia Foundation for the Humanities,
11 Jul. 2013.) Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
9
Isaac, The Transformation of Virginia, 1740-1790, 148.
10
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that wild state.
11
Agreeing with the Anglican ministers, Gooch felt that lack of credentials of
these preachers would lead lead the innocent and ignorant people into all kinds of delusion.
12

Strict regulation on licenses is attributed to the Councils determination to confine the dissenters
within bounds.
13
The battle of licensure of dissenting preachers continued for the next two
years. At this point, Samuel Davies had obtained a license and sought approval for building
more meeting houses in Virginia. While temporarily receiving a license to build additional
meeting houses from the New Kent County court, the General court revoked the license by
stating, the liberty sought by Davies to extend his preaching activities was not within the words
or intent of the Toleration Act of 1649.
14
It is important to note the position of the attorney
general of Virginia, Peyton Randolph, relating to the matter of dissenting preachers and number
of meeting houses they were allowed. It is equally important to understand that that his views
coincided with Virginia traditionalists. Randolph claimed that
there ought not to be more than on House licensed for one Preacher since the People
within the Bounds of a County, will sufficiently employ a Preacher, and it will give great
Encouragement to fall off from the established Church if they [the preachers] are
permitted to range and raise Contributions of the whole Country. Besides it tends to sow
Dissention & Confusion among the People, & can only be calculated to put Money into
the Pocket of the Teacher, whose Interest does not deserve so much Respect.
15

After consultation with the Dissenting Deputies in London, they informed him that though the
Toleration Act did not forbid either of his concerns, they doubted whether the act was in force

11
Franklin Parks, William Parks The Colonial Printer in the Transatlantic World of the Eighteenth Century.
(Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2012.), 175
12
13
14
15
William Henry Foote, Sketches of Virginia, 2d ed. M. E. Bratcher (Richmond, Virginia: John Knox Press,
1850.), 293-4.
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in the colony beyond the clauses enumerated in the Virginia law of 1699.
16
Although the
Assembly placed massive restrictions on the licensure of the New Side Presbyterian preachers,
their increasing support was enough to startle not only established Anglican Church, but also the
General Assembly in Virginia.
Much like the Presbyterians, the Baptist sect of Christianity saw a revival during the
years of the Great Awakening. While the Presbyterians sought more involvement and freedom
from the Virginian Assembly, the Baptists wanted to develop deep fellowship between their
Brothers and Sisters. Also, the Baptists preachers placed no importance on gaining licensure
from the state. They believed that the only authority in their church was the meeting together of
those in fellowship.
17
Respect for traditional community life was absent among the Baptist.
The Baptists marked out sharp boundaries segregating themselves as individuals and church
groups from the world.
18
Their individualism combined with their allowance of slaves to their
meetings, caused a great clash between the Baptists and the members of the Established Church.
Members of the establishment physically abused Baptists members on many occasions for their
denouncement of the traditional Anglican community. One of the most violent displays of abuse
took place in 1771 in the town of Tidewater, Virginia. During a Baptist sermon, the sheriff of
Caroline County, along with Parson of the Parish, pulled the preacher off the stage and gave him
twenty lashings with a horse whip.
19
In response, the preacher simply walked back on stage and
continued preaching. Although the Baptists did not stir the political atmosphere of the

16
17
18
19
John Williams's Journal, May 10, 1771, in Lewis Peyton Little, Imprisoned
Preachers and Religious Liberty in Virginia. (Lynchburg, Virginia, 1938.), 230-231.
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establishment, they most certainly challenged their traditional social order. The Gentry were
forced to maneuver between a partial revolution in values and organization among the common
planters and their own unshaken attachment to the Establish Church- an institution that had
served to affirm and legitimate their dominance over the whole community.
20

The most important debates concerning church and state matters began in the early years
of the Revolution. Virginia held a convention dedicated to establishing a new government.
Mason was in favor of keeping, and actually enforcing, the English Act of Toleration, which
allowed for the practice of any religion. James Madison asserted that all men should be able to
freely practice any religion, and to eliminate taxes associated with the support of the
established church. The convention upheld Madisons uncompromising free exercise phrase
but eliminated the rider clause that precluded a tax-supported establishment.
21
The article to the
newly established Virginia Constitution allowed dissenting preachers to preach without a license,
but also asserted that public assemblies of societies for divine worship ought to be regulated.
22

The most important bill passed during the fall of 1776 was the exemption act. The act
exempted dissenters from being taxed to support the Established Church and suspended the
payment of the statutory salaries of the clergy.
23
This was the first time in Virginias short
history that the state completely voided the citizens duties to pay church taxes. Much to the
liking of the dissenters, a bill passed in 1779 completely abolished both salaries for the clergy
and all taxes that supported the former Established Church. A second convention was held in

20
21
22
23
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October 1776. With the help of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, the convention passed
an act for exempting the different societies of Dissenters from contributing to the support and
maintenance of the church as by law established, and its ministers, and for other purposes therein
mentioned.
24
The preamble to the act stated that it is contrary to the principles of reason and
justice that any should be compelled to contribute to the maintenance of a church with which
their consciences will not permit them to join, and from which they can therefore receive no
benefit.
25
Although this act still maintained the distinctions between dissenter and the
church, it paved the road for further denouncement of the privileges enjoyed by the Church.
26

In 1784, however, there was an attempt to charge a tax on the citizens for support of the
Christian religion. Members of the Presbyterian faith were upset with the decline of public
worship, and wanted the government to collect a tax religion in general. The House of Delegates
resolved by a vote of 47 to 32: That the people of this Commonwealth, according to their
respective abilities, ought to pay a moderate tax or contribution annually for the support of the
Christian religion.
27
Out of that ruling came the Bill for Establishing a Provision for Teachers
of Religion. Justification for the public support of religion was outlined in the preamble:
Whereas the general diffusion of Christian knowledge hath a natural tendency to correct
the morals of men, restrain their vices, and preserve the peace of society, which cannot be
effected without a competent provision for learned teachers, who may be thereby enabled
to devote their time and attention to the duty of instructing such citizens as from their
circumstances and want of education cannot otherwise attain such knowledge; and it is

24
William Waller Hening, ed., The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia from the First
Session of the Legislature, in the Year 1619(Richmond: J. & G. Cochran, 1821): 9:164-166.
25
Hening, The Statues at Large; Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia from the First Session of the
Legislature, in the Year 1619. 164-166.
26
27
William H. Foote, The Presbytery of Hanover, to the Assembly, in October 1784, Sketches of Virginia,
(University of Michigan: 1850). 337
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judged such provision may be made by the Legislature, without counteracting the liberal
principle heretofore adopted and intended to be preserved, by abolishing all distinctions
of pre-eminence among the different societies or communities of Christians
28

Patrick Henry believed that the current state of Virginia was declining due to the lack of public
religious support. The Assessment Bill, although never passed, allowed taxpayers to choose
which church received their taxes. Noted in the passage above, the bill was written because
Henry believed that the teachings of Christianity would correct the behavior of the dissenting
sects in Virginia. The bill was staunchly opposed by both James Madison and Thomas Jefferson.
Madison constructed a protest to the bill called Memorial and Remonstrance. The contents of the
protest included fifteen arguments why the bill was an intrusion upon the religiously liberties of
the people. Madison, much like Jefferson, held extremely enlighten ideals concerning reason
and nature. One of his main arguments was that religion can be directed only by reason and
conviction, not by force or violence.
29
Madison continues his argument by comparing the bill
with the Virginia state constitution. He asserts that if the constitution guarantees equal exercise
of religious freedom, then anything that violates that guarantee is violating the state. Madison,
along with Jefferson, saw the Henry bill not as a step toward the new postwar age of freedom but
as a backward slide toward subservience and deference.
30
The Presbyterians agreed with
Madisons protest stating that religion is altogether personal, and the right of exercising it
unalienable; and it is not, cannot, and ought not be, resigned to the will of the society at large;
and much less to the Legislature.
31
The Baptists also agreed on the notion that the distinction

28
Charles James, ed., Documentary History of the Struggle for Religious Liberty in Virginia (Philadelphia, 1850.),
129.
29
Edwin Gaustad, Sworn on the Altar of God: A Religious Biography of Thomas Jefferson, (Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1996), 59.
30
Gaustad, Sworn on the Altar of God: A Religious Biography of Thomas Jefferson, 61.
31
Lambert, The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America, 232.
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between civil and ecclesiastical governments ought to be kept up without blending them
together.
32
With the support of the dissenters, Madisons Memorial and Remonstrance made
sure the assessment bill never went to a vote. The bill that replaced it was arguably the most
influential piece of legislature, concerning separation of church, ever written.
On June 4, 1779, Thomas Jeffersons Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom was
brought before the House. Although the bill was tabled, it was released to the public for personal
viewing. In this form it sparked off another round of public controversy, and when the House
reassembled in the fall, it found that petitions in favor of the bill were outweighed by those
expressly rejecting it and calling for a general assessment for the support of religion.
33
Finally,
in the wake of the dying assessment bill, Jeffersons bill was given a chance in the House in
1785. Before discussing the bill, it is essential to understand Jeffersons background and intent
for writing this historic piece of legislation.
Thomas Jefferson is one of the most misunderstood leaders in United States history.
Because he was fully enthralled with the Enlightenment movement, Jeffersons ideals revolved
around equality and freedom. He was fascinated by the works of Francis Bacon, John Locke,
and Isaac Newton. Their ideals and beliefs are easily seen throughout Jeffersons works.
Regarding his religious beliefs, many scholars have argued that he was an atheist. They claim
that he hated religion, and wanted to see all organized religion come to an end. The most
common argument attempting to oust Jefferson as an anti-religious advocate is his response the
Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut. His quote advocating for a wall of separation of

32
Lambert, The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America, 233.
33
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between Church and State is often taken out of context. In this specific case, Jefferson was
actually defending the Baptist against the state of Connecticut, who informed them that religious
toleration was a privilege rather than a right.
Not only do present scholars accuse Jefferson of being an atheist, but also political
opponents of his time. There are a few reasons as to why many of his opponents believed that he
was anti-religious. Although he never publically spoke about his personal beliefs, Jefferson was
very outspoken in his belief that the government should not interfere with a persons religious
endeavors. It was these beliefs that caused his adversaries to label him as an atheist. In order to
gain a sense of Jeffersons complex religious beliefs, it is imperative to review his various
writings. The two documents that clearly reveal his religious beliefs are his edited version of the
Christian bible The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, and his Notes on the State of
Virginia. Understanding Jeffersons religious convictions helps to determine the original
intent of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom.
As stated above, Jefferson heavily relied on the works of Bacon, Locke, and Newton to
develop his beliefs on many aspects of life. He learned to count, collect, explore, measure,
observe, arrange, invent, and put his trust in the perceptions of the present rather than in the
precedents from the distant past.
34
Jefferson believed that there was a single supreme being that
created the universe, but does not interfere with his creation and allows the laws of nature and
reason to rule the earth. On the subject of reason, Jefferson failed to believe the Christian story
of Jesus and his miracles. He revised the Christian Bible and titled it, The Life and Times of
Jesus of Nazareth. In his revised version, Jefferson took out any part of the scripture that did

34
Gaustad, Sworn on the Altar of God: A Religious Biography of Thomas Jefferson, 21
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not align with the laws of reason. In short, he stripped all of the miracles Jesus performed out of
the Bible arguing that the day will come, when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the Supreme
Being as his Father, in the Womb of a virgin, will be classed with fable of the generation of
Minerva in the brain of Jupiter.
35
Although Jefferson held some discrepancies about the story of
Jesus he hailed him as a great example of what citizens should strive to become. In a letter he
sent to his contemporary, William Short, Jefferson revealed what he admired about Jesus: It is
the innocence of his character, the purity and sublimity of his moral precepts, the eloquence of
his inculcation, the beauty of his apologues in which he conveys them that I so much admire.
Among the sayings of fine imagination, correct morality, and one of the most lovely
benolence.
36
Jeffersons view of Jesus plays an important role to determine his religious
beliefs. He wanted to follow the moral teachings of Christ, rather the biographers version of
Jesus in the New Testament. Judging from the evidence in the letters to his contemporaries, and
his edited version of the New Testament, it is easy to dispel the notion that Thomas Jefferson
was an atheist. If anything, the sources indicated that Jefferson was very fond of religion and
held its notion in high regard. Jeffersons use of logic and reason when deciphering fact from
fiction in the Bible, also played a large role in his opinions on the relationship between church
and state. Understanding the ideals Jefferson held about religion allows for further examination
on the motives behind his creation of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom.

35
Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Bruce Braden. "Ye Will Say I Am No Christian" :
The Thomas Jefferson/John Adams Correspondence on Religion, Morals, and
Values.(Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2006.), 223.
36
Thomas Jefferson to William Short, 13 April 1820, in The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Albert E. Bergh, 15.
(Washington, DC Issued under the auspices of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association of the United States,
1907.), 244-245.
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Jeffersons Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVII described his ideals associated
with the relationship between religion and government.
37
In the first section of the Query,
Jefferson chastised the Virginian government about their practices toward dissenting religious
sects. He presented the fact that members of the English church fled England with the promise
of religious freedom in America. But now, Jefferson continued, possessed, as they became, of
the powers of making, administering, and executing the laws, they shewed equal intolerance in
this country.
38
Jefferson contended that the colonial Virginia government passed the very laws
the first settlers to America initially absconded. He then sheds light on the treatment of the
dissenting sects mentioned earlier. Other opinions began then to creep in, and the great care of
the government to support their own church, having begotten an equal degree of indolence in its
clergy, two-thirds of the people had become dissenters at the commencement of the present
revolution.
39
Although two-thirds of Virginians were dissenters toward the beginning of the
American Revolution, the Virginian government continued to enact laws that were oppressive.
In the next section of the Query, Jeffersons argument sustained his motive for drafting the
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom.
In the second half of Query XVII, Jefferson addressed two major arguments for religious
freedom. The first argument was that the rights of conscience are natural rights that cannot be
taken away by man. Jefferson asserted that the government should only intervene in situations
that could cause injury to citizens.
40
Speaking in defense of religion, Jefferson goes on to say, it

37
Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, ed. Frank Shuffelton (New York: Penguin Books, 1999.), 163-
167)
38
Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 163.
39
40
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does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my
pocket nor breaks my leg.
41
Jefferson conveyed that religious beliefs of one man cannot cause
injury to another. The second, and most important argument Jefferson brought forth was that it
was immoral for a governing body to enforce a specific religion on its citizens. First of all, it
conflicted with the first argument Jefferson gave about the natural rights of conscience. Also,
Jefferson pointed out, that men are fallible and the only way to determine the correct religion
was through reason and free inquiry.
42
Jefferson continued by saying, error alone needs the
support of the government. Truth can stand by itself.
43
He contended that because man is
fallible, true religion did not need support from the government. That specific argument
showed that Jefferson wanted a society that would foster true religion, and the establishment of a
state church would only render that from happening. Jefferson brought light to the fact that no
two states have established the same religion.
44
That argument was aimed toward the overall
establishment of religion. Jefferson drew the conclusion that if all religions claim theirs to be
true, and others to be false, true religion has not had the chance to prosper. This conclusion
deemed extremely important to motives behind Jeffersons statute because, at the time, the
Virginia government was trying to enact a law that allowed for several religious establishments
to be under its control.
Clearly stated above are the religious convictions of Thomas Jefferson. He was a very
religious man that wanted to keep religion in the daily lives of Virginia citizens. Contrary to

41
42
43
44
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popular belief, Jefferson motives for creating the Statute for Religious Freedom were not to
expel religion entirely, but to create a new relationship between the church and state that fostered
the growth of true religion. Jeffersons statue is one of the most revolutionary documents in
American history. Contained in the next few pages is the transcript of the Virginia Statute for
Religious Freedom, and a thorough analysis of its content and effects.
SECTION I. Well aware that the opinions and belief of men depend not on their own
will, but follow involuntarily the evidence proposed to their minds; that Almighty God
hath created the mind free, and manifested his supreme will that free it shall remain by
making it altogether insusceptible of restraint; that all attempts to influence it by temporal
punishments, or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of
hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the holy author of our
religion, who being lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to propagate it by
coercions on either, as was in his Almighty power to do, but to extend it by its influence
on reason alone; that the impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as
ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired men, have assumed
dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as
the only true and infallible, and as such endeavoring to impose them on others, hath
established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world and through
all time: That to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of
opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical; that even the forcing
him to support this or that teacher of his own religious persuasion, is depriving him of the
comfortable liberty of giving his contributions to the particular pastor whose morals he
would make his pattern, and whose powers he feels most persuasive to righteousness; and
is withdrawing from the ministry those temporary rewards, which proceeding from an
approbation of their personal conduct, are an additional incitement to earnest and
unremitting labours for the instruction of mankind; that our civil rights have no
dependance on our religious opinions, any more than our opinions in physics or
geometry; that therefore the proscribing any citizen as unworthy the public confidence by
laying upon him an incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolument, unless
he profess or renounce this or that religious opinion, is depriving him injuriously of those
privileges and advantages to which, in common with his fellow citizens, he has a natural
right; that it tends also to corrupt the principles of that very religion it is meant to
encourage, by bribing, with a monopoly of worldly honours and emoluments, those who
will externally profess and conform to it; that though indeed these are criminal who do
not withstand such temptation, yet neither are those innocent who lay the bait in their
way; that the opinions of men are not the object of civil government, nor under its
jurisdiction; that to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of
opinion and to restrain the profession or propagation of principles on supposition of their
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ill tendency is a dangerous falacy, which at once destroys all religious liberty, because he
being of course judge of that tendency will make his opinions the rule of judgment, and
approve or condemn the sentiments of others only as they shall square with or differ from
his own; that it is time enough for the rightful purposes of civil government for its
officers to interfere when principles break out into overt acts against peace and good
order; and finally, that truth is great and will prevail if left to herself; that she is the
proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict unless
by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate;
errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them.
SECT. II. WE the General Assembly of Virginia do enact that no man shall be compelled
to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be
enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise
suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to
profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the
same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.
SECT. III. AND though we well know that this Assembly, elected by the people for the
ordinary purposes of legislation only, have no power to restrain the acts of succeeding
Assemblies, constituted with powers equal to our own, and that therefore to declare this
act irrevocable would be of no effect in law; yet we are free to declare, and do declare,
that the rights hereby asserted are of the natural rights of mankind, and that if any act
shall be hereafter passed to repeal the present or to narrow its operation, such act will be
an infringement of natural right.
45

The first section is a long, one sentence preamble that harps on the importance of
freedom of religion. Whereas, Almighty God hath created the mind free; that all attempts to
influence it by temporal punishments or burthens, or by civil incapacitations tend only to beget
habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the holy author of our
religion.
46
This portion mirrors the convictions held by Jefferson in his Notes on the State of
Virginia that the laws of nature protect the right of a mans conscience. The lines that follow

45
Thomas Jefferson, "An Act for Establishing Religious Freedom," January 16, 1786, Manuscript, Records of the
General Assembly, Enrolled Bills, Record Group 78, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
46
Thomas Jefferson, "An Act for Establishing Religious Freedom," January 16, 1786
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show his direct attack on the established religion and claims, That to compel a man to furnish
contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and
tyrannical.
47
This was in response to Patrick Henrys Assessment Bill that allocated for
multiple establishment and the continuation of an established church. He continues by
advocating that there should not be restrictions put on religion because that tends only to
corrupt the principles of that very Religion it is meant to encourage.
48
He finishes the preamble
of the bill encouraging the government to protect the people from overt acts against peace and
good order.
49
As discussed before, Jefferson wanted the government to protect the religious
freedom of its citizens. Though the preamble is the most lengthy portion of the document, the
next two sections are the most important as they become the law of Virginia.
The second section of the Statute enforced the Establishment and Free Exercise
clauses that Thomas Jefferson fought for nearly a decade to implement. The establishment clause
is presented first and it reads: No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious
worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened
in his body or goods, not shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief.
50

The clause ensured that no man shall have to attend church, nor pay taxes to any established
religious group. The free-exercise clause is presented directly after the establishment clause and
reads: all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in the
matters of Religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or affect their civil

47
48
49
50
Robert Kyle Miller
History 400
April 30, 2014

18

capacities.
51
The clause ensured that one could freely practice any religion and not be legally
mistreated by the government.
The last clause of the statue was the most important to Jefferson because it declared the
contents of the entire bill to be the natural law of man. Jefferson stated that if any future
generation attempted to alter or retract the law it would be an infringement of natural right.
52

The laws of natural rights are what motivated Jefferson to begin the journey of writing this piece
of revolutionary legislation.
Thomas Jeffersons Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom was the first law, in the
United States, to grant full religious freedom to all subjects in a state. Throughout the latter part
of the eighteenth century and the nineteenth century, it was cited as the true measure of religious
freedom and relied upon extensively in state constitutional and legislative debates, particularly
when church-state relations were at issue.
53
In addition to affected state constitutions, it can be
asserted, from the language in the First Amendment to the Constitution, that Jeffersons statue
was the reference point for the freedom of religion and separation clauses issued on a national
level in the Bill of Rights.
Before the American Revolution, colonial Virginia was largely run by members of the
Established Church. The Church of England was the established state church for almost two
centuries. High ranking members of the Established Church belonged to the vestries that held a
great deal of power over the lower class. Members of the vestry were legally allowed to levy

51
52
53
John Ragosta,. "Virginia Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom (1786)." In Encyclopedia Virginia. (Virginia
Foundation for the Humanities, Aug, 30, 2012.), Web. 7 Apr. 2014.
Robert Kyle Miller
History 400
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19

taxes to support the Church of England. An evangelical religious movement, known as the Great
Awakening, gave way to a sharp increase in the number of dissenting religious sects, notably the
Presbyterians and Baptists. From the early 1740s up until the victory of the Revolutionary War,
dissenting members of Virginia were ostracized and abused for their beliefs. The established
Anglican Church was threatened by the Enlightenment ideals presented by Thomas Jefferson and
James Madison. Asserting that the conscience of an individual was a natural right given by
God, both Madison and Jefferson sought for the universal freedom of religion in Virginia.
Jefferson and Madison engaged in a series of court battles fighting for religious freedom and the
disestablishment of the state supported Anglican Church. Madisons Memorial and
Remonstrance reflected the natural rights ideals shared by both men, and it paved the way for
Jeffersons Statue for Religious Freedom, that ultimately granted universal freedom of religion
within the state. In addition to the principle of freedom of religion, Jeffersons bill disestablished
the state church and further separated religion from state matters. Jeffersons achievement of
passing the Statue for Religious Freedom is generally credited with influencing not only the
religious clauses presented in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, but all
future state constitutional conventions tasked with providing legislation on religious freedom and
the separation of church and state.

Robert Kyle Miller
History 400
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20

Works Cited
Elton, G.R. England under the Tudors. London, 1974.
Fisher, George. Narrative of George Fisher. William and Mary Quarterly. 1
st
Ser.XVII, 1908-1909.
Foote, William. Sketches of Virginia. 2d ed. M. E. Bratcher. Richmond, Virginia: John Knox
Press, 1850.

Gaustad, Edwin. Sworn on the Altar of God: A Religious Biography of Thomas Jefferson. Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 1996.
Robert Kyle Miller
History 400
April 30, 2014

21

Hening, William. ed. The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia from the First
Session of the Legislature, in the Year 1619. Richmond: J. & G. Cochran, 1821.
Henry, William. Patrick Henry; Life, Correspondence and Speeches. Vol. 2. University of California:
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1891.
Holmes. David. The Faiths of the Founding Fathers. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Isaac, Rhys. The Transformation of Virginia, 1740-1790. Chapel Hill: Published for the Institute of Early
American History and Culture, Williamsburg, VA., by University of North Carolina Press, 1982.
James, Charles. ed., Documentary History of the Struggle for Religious Liberty in Virginia. Philadelphia,
1850.
Jefferson, Thomas. "An Act for Establishing Religious Freedom," January 16, 1786. Manuscript, Records
of the General Assembly, Enrolled Bills, Record Group 78, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
Jefferson, Thomas. Notes on the State of Virginia, ed. Frank Shuffelton. New York: Penguin Books,
1999.
Jefferson, Thomas to William Short. 13 April 1820, in The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Albert E.
Bergh. Vol. 15. Washington, DC Issued under the auspices of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Association of the United States, 1907.
Jefferson, Thomas, John Adams, and Bruce Braden. "Ye Will Say I Am No Christian:
The Thomas Jefferson/John Adams Correspondence on Religion, Morals, and
Values. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2006.
Lambert, Frank. The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America. Princeton, N.J.:
Princeton University Press, 2003.
Robert Kyle Miller
History 400
April 30, 2014

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Parks, Franklin. William Parks The Colonial Printer in the Transatlantic World of the Eighteenth
Century. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2012.
Ragosta, John. "Virginia Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom (1786)." In Encyclopedia
Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, Aug, 30, 2012.
Williams's, John Journal, May 10, 1771, in Lewis Peyton Little, Imprisoned
Preachers and Religious Liberty in Virginia. Lynchburg, Virginia, 1938.

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History 400
April 30, 2014

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