Indeed, many of our forefathers had come to America in order to practice their faith without hindrance or impediment. The tradition in England at the time was religious tolera-tion. Doctrinal differences with the Church of England were held to be wrong. They were tolerated, but in that toleration was the frown of disapproval, carrying with it restrictions in how much property one might own or whether one might hold public office. The Founders replaced this tradition with the idea of religious freedom.
Religious freedom goes beyond toleration.
May the children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other in-habitants, while every one shall sit safely under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. The first practical truth of the American founding, then, is religious freedom. One man may not rule another on the basis of his reading of revealed scripture. For that reason, this book of ours does not advance its arguments for moral revival on such a basis. This is not a compromise on our part.