Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826
. Notes on the State of Virginia
/ From The Writings of Thomas Jefferson: Volume 2
Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library
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An Act for establishing Religious Freedom, passed in the Assembly of Virginia in the
beginning of year 1786.
No.III
An Act for establishing Religious Freedom, passed in the Assembly of Virginia
in the beginning of the year 1786.
Well aware that Almighty God hath created the mind free; 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
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coercions on either, as was in his Almighty power to do; that the impious
presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastic al, 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, 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 temporal rewards, which proceeding from an
approbation of their personal conduct, are an additional incitement to earnest
and unremitting labors for the instruction of man-kind; that our civil rights
have no dependence on our religious opinions, more than our opinions in
physics or geometry; that, therefore, the proscribing any citizen as unworthy
the public confidence by laving upon him an incapacity of being called to the
offices of trust and emolument, unless he profess or renounce this or that
religious opinion, is depriving him injuriously of those privileges and
advantages
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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 honors 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 the 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 offices 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 therefore enacted by the General Assembly, That no man shall be compelled
to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever
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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 nowise diminish,
enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.
And though, we well know 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 the 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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