Piper Little

Ms. Paisant

Virginia History

16 November 2021

Religious Freedom in Virginia

Ever since the United States of America declared independence in 1776, religious

freedom has reigned as one of the most important values of American society. Despite the

numerous arguments that religion divides us or that it leads to discrimination against certain

groups of people, religion, and the ability to practice it freely has continued to remain prevalent

for every single person in America. This applies to every citizen of the United States, whether

they are a practicing Christian, a Muslim, an Atheist, or an irreligious person. Religious freedom

is so important because it has drastically changed the way people think about important topics in

the United States and it has allowed people to practice a religion as they wanted without fear of

persecution.

For nearly two and a half centuries, religion has been essential to many Americans’ daily

lives. According to Pew Research Center, seventy-six percent of Americans are affiliated with

some religion (Pew Research Center). It has influenced how we act, what we do, and who we

associate ourselves with. “The idea that people should be able to follow their conscience in how

they worship has been part of the American identity since its beginning” (Trainer). While this

freedom and inalienable right has been granted to us and clearly written in the Constitution by

our Founding Fathers, religious freedom was born through two documents originating in

Virginia: the Virginia Declaration of Rights and The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. The

State of Virginia set a precedent very early on in the life of the United States that said that no one
could be forced to be part of a church with whom they didn’t agree nor would establishing a

universal church be allowed either. Written in 1776 by Thomas Jefferson and adopted on January

16, 1789, The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom guaranteed religious freedom to all

Virginians and made it illegal for the state to officially establish any one church. Before this,

Virginia was forcing its citizens to support the Church of England no matter what religion they

were and this successfully put a stop to it, even though it was met with a fiery debate between

members of the Virginia General Assembly (Virginia History 3.6.W). This document was a

precursor to the First Amendment within the Constitution, granting all American citizens to

practice whatever religion they want without any sort of government regulation.

As this Constitutional right to religious freedom has continued to thrive for generations,

so have the countless arguments that have risen against having this right. With various

organizations advocating against it to new court rulings, both from lower and higher courts,

religious freedom has fluctuated and been threatened at nearly every turn. Many people can’t

practice their religion openly without being alienated in some way due to prejudice and

judgment, with or without reason. According to the United States Conference of Catholic

Bishops, there have been numerous ways that religious freedom has continued to be threatened,

ranging from Catholic charities being removed from adoption services for refusing to place a

child with a same-sex couple to churches being barred from renting out a building for worship

services that other non-religious services groups were allowed to rent out for other uses. A

prominent and controversial topic that has been on the rise in recent years centers around the fact

that some religious organizations are also being forced to provide sterilization, contraceptive, and

abortion services to people even when it goes against their beliefs (United States Conference of

Catholic Bishops). An example of this issue coming to fruition and national attention is the
Supreme Court case Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul, Home v. Pennsylvania,

where a group of Roman Catholic nuns called the “Little Sisters of the Poor” were being required

to provide forms of contraceptives due to the “contraceptive mandate” from the Affordable Care

Act, or ACA, passed in 2011 (Smith et al, 9 July 2020 & Vile, 10 July 2020). The administration

of former President Trump issued regulations that expanded religious exemptions to this

mandate, covering churches, not-for-profit, education, and for-profit entities where their religious

and moral objections prevented them from providing coverage for contraceptives (Smith et al).

On July 8, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration did indeed have the

authority to widen these religious exemptions to ACA’s contraception requirement (Vile).

Although this court ruling was a win for advocates of religious freedom, it still raises the alarm

that this will not be the only challenge raised against the Constitution and the freedom to do

certain things without interference from others.

Since the early years of the United States of America, religious freedom has been one of

the most important items within the foundation of our country. Despite the arguments that have

risen against this unalienable right, freedom to practice any religion has continued to flourish as

now most American citizens belong to some religion. Without the strong political influence of

the state of Virginia and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, it might not have come until

many years later, or perhaps, we would have never had it at all, and it would have just been a far-

off dream in the minds of our Founding Fathers.

 Works Cited

“Current Threats to Religious Liberty.” United States Conference of Catholic Bishops,

https://www.usccb.org/committees/religious-liberty/current-threats-religious-liberty

“Religious Landscape Study.” Pew Research Center,  https://www.pewforum.org/religious-

landscape-study/

Smith, Zack, Amy Swearer, Ryan T. Anderson, Ph.D. “Little Sisters of Poor Win Big at Supreme

Court, but Fight Isn’t Over.” The Heritage Foundation, 9 July. 2020,

https://www.heritage.org/religious-liberty/commentary/little-sisters-poor-win-big-

supreme-court-fight-isnt-over 

Trainer, Mark. “Why religious freedom matters to Americans.” ShareAmerica, 4 Feb. 2019,

https://share.america.gov/why-religious-freedom-matters-to-americans/

Vile, R. John. “Little Sisters of the Poor win in Supreme Court in contraception case.” The Free

Speech Center, 10 July. 2020, https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/post/801/little-

sisters-of-the-poor-win-in-supreme-court-in-contraception-case