Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-01-13

AN ACT for establishing religious freedom passed
In the Assembly of Virginia in the beginning Of
the year 1856:
Well aware that Almighty God hath created the
mind free that all attempts to influence Il by tenn
poral punishments or burdens, or by civil incapa-
citations, tend only to bcgeS habits Of hypocrisy
and meanness, and are departure from the plan
OF the Holy Author Of our religion who, being Lord
both OF body and OF mind, yet chose not to prop
agate by coercions either az was in his almighty
power to do; that the impious presumption Of leg
slatures and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical
who, being themselves but fallible and uninspred
men, have assumed dominion over the faith of
Others, setting up their own opinions and modes of
thinking as the only true and infllbe, and as such
endeavoring to impose them upon others, hath es-
tabished and maintained false religions over the
greatest part of the world, and through all time .
that to compel man to furnish contributions of
money for the propagation of opinions which he
dsbeleves, 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 tonghteousness to and is Withdrawing from
the ministry those temporal rewards, which, pro-
ceedRg from an appreciation Of their personal con-
duet, are an additional incitement to earnest and
unremitting labors for the instruction of mankind
that our civil rights have no dependence on our re-
igious opinions more than our opinions in physics
or geometry; that therefore, the prescribing of
any citizen as unworthy the public confidence by
laying upon him an incapacity Of being called to
the Offices of trust and emolument, unless he pro-
fess or renounce this that religious opinion il
depriving him injuriously of those privileges and
advantages to which, in common with his fellow
citizens, he has natural right that it tends also
to corrupt the principles OF the very religion 1t is
meant to encourage, by brihing, with monopoly
Of worldly honors, those who will externally pro-
fess and conform to iii that though, indeed, those
are criminal who do not withstand such tempta-
tions, yet neither are those innocent who lay the
bait in their way that to suffer the civil ma
gstrate to intrude his powers into the field of opn
on and to restrain the profession or propagation of
principles, on the suppostion of their i'll tendency
ia a dangerous fallaoy, which at once DESTROYS ali
religious liberty, BECAUSE he being of course Judge
OF that tendency, will make his opinions the rule
OF Judgment, and approve or condemn the senti-
ments of Others only as they shall square with, or
differ ffom his own; that il Is time enough, for the
rightful purposes Of civil government, for its OFF,
GERS 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 antag-
onist OF error and has nothing to fear from the
conflict, unless by human nterposition disarmed Of
her natural weapons, free argument and debate,
errors ceasng to be dangerous when it is permitted
freely to combat them.
BE H. therefore, enacted 5y tho General As
se'nbtH That no man shall be compelled to fire.
quent or support any religious worship, place, or
ministry whatsoever, nor shall he be enforced, re-
strained, moested or burdened In his body or goods
nor shall he otherwise suffer account ofisreiigous
opinions or belief but that all men shall be free to
profess, and by argument to maintain, their opin-
ions In matters Of religion, and that the same shall
in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil
capacities,
And though we well know this Assembly, elected
by the people for the ordinary purposes of legis-
aton 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 irrevocablc 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 ope
rations, such an act viii be an infringement Of
natural right.