Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
(Adopted 1786)
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, who being Lord both of body
and mind, yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, as it was
in his Almighty power to do; 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 endeavouring 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, 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 dependence 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 only to corrupt the principles of that 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 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:
Be it enacted by the General Assembly, 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 opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall
in no wise diminish enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.
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 to be 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 shall be an infringement of natural right.
Writings
of Thomas Jefferson
Classical
Liberals