~ RHF wrote:



VIRGINIA STATUTE FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

[Sec. 1] Where as 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:

[Sec. 2] 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
burdened 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.

[Sec. 3] 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.
-Thomas Jefferson