Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-05-24
GEORGE D. GRAY, Of 6ulpeper,
JOSIAH DABBS Of Halifax.
AN ACT for est.blishing religious freedom, passed

AN ACT for establishing religious freedom, parsed
in the Assembly Of Virginia in the beginning Of
the year 1855:
Well aware that Almighty God hath created the
mind free that all attempts to influence 1t by tenn
porh punishments or burdens, or by civil incapa-
citations, tend only TO beget habits of hypocrisy
and mssnness, 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 as was In his almighty
power 10 de; that the impious presumption of leg
slatures and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical
who, being themselves but hllible and uninspred
men, have assumed dominion over the faith of
Others, setting up their opinions and modes of
thinking as the only true and infalble, and as such
endeavoring to impose them upon others, hath es-
tablished and maintained false religions over the
greatest part Of the world and through all time !;
that 10 compel man to furnish contributions OF
money Tor the propagation of opinions which he
dsbeieves, is sinful and tyranncal 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, and Ia Withdrawing from
the ministry those temporal rewards, which, pro-
ceeding from an appreciation of their personal con-
duct, are an additional incitement to earnest and
unremitting abors for the instruction of mankind
that our civil rights have no dependence on our re-
lgious 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 or that religious opinion, is
depriving him injurously Of those privileges and
advantages TO which, in common with his fellow
citizens, he has natural right that Il tends also
TO corrupt the principles Of the very religion IL is
meant to encourage, by bribing, with monopoly
OF worldly honors those who will externally pro-
Tess and conform 10 II; that though indeed, those
are criminal who do not withstand such tempta-
tons, yet neither are those innocent who lay the
bait m their way; that TO suffer the civil ma
gstrate TO intrude his powers into the sd Of opn-
ion and TO restrain the profession or propagation Of
principles, on the suppositon of their nj tendency.
Is dangerous falacy, which at once DESTROYS ali
religious liberty because, he being of course Judge
Of that tendency, viii make his opinions the rule
Of Judgment and approve or condemn the .ent;-
ments of Others only they shall square with. or
differ from, his own; that II IL time enough for the
rightfu purposes Of civil government, for it's on
GERS to interfere when principles break out into
overt acts against peace and good order; and,
finally, that truth Is great and win prevail II left 10
herself that she IL the proper and sufficient antae.
onist OF error, and has nothing to fear from the
conflict unless by human interpretation disarned of
her natural Weapons free argument and debate,