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Below is Virginia's Statute for Religious
Freedom written by Thomas Jefferson in 1777, and enacted into Virginia
Law January 16, 1786. The part I like best about this law is the part
that says:
"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."
Virginia
Statute for Religious Freedom
A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom
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 burdens,
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 ill tendency is a dangerous fallacy,
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.
Section 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 rights.
Section 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.
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