page_title: Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
hierarchical_section_title: Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
caption_attribution_description: This photograph is of the grave site of Thomas Jefferson, which is located at Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia.
context_page_description: The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was drafted in 1777 by Thomas Jefferson in the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia. On January 16, 1786, the Assembly enacted the statute into the state's law. The statute disestablished the Church of England in Virginia and guaranteed freedom of religion to people of all religious faiths, including Christians of all denominations, Jews, Muslims, and Hindus. The statute was a notable precursor of the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
  The Statute for Religious Freedom is one of only three accomplishments Jefferson instructed be put in his epitaph.
context_section_description: The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was drafted in 1777 (however it was not first introduced into the Virginia General Assembly until 1779) by Thomas Jefferson in the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia.  On January 16, 1786, the Assembly enacted the statute into the state's law.  The statute disestablished the Church of England in Virginia and guaranteed freedom of religion to people of all religious faiths, including Christians of all denominations, Jews, Muslims, and Hindus.  The statute was a notable precursor of the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
  The Statute for Religious Freedom is one of only three accomplishments Jefferson instructed be put in his epitaph.
caption: Jefferson's tombstone.  The inscription, as he stipulated, reads Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and father of the University of Virginia.
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