Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-05-15

AN ACT for establishing religious freedom. passed
in the Assembly Of Virginia in the beginning o.
the year 1885:
Well aware that Almighty God hath created the
mind free that all attempts TO influence It by tenn.
pori punishments or burdens, or by civil incapa.
citations, 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 of mind, yet chose not TO prop
agate by coercions either as was In his almighty
power TO do; that the impious presumption Of leg
islatures and rulers civil ~ well az ecclesiastical
who, being themselves but farlible and uninspired
men, have assumed dominion over the faith oi
Others, setting up their own opinions and modes Of
thinking az the only true and inflible and as such
endeavoring 70 impose them upon others, hath es-
tabshed and maintained false religions over the
greatest part Of the world, and through all time
that to compel man to furnish contributions oi
money for the propagation of opinions which he
dsbeleves IL 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 withdrawingfr
the ministry those temporal rewards, which. pro.
ceeding from appreciation of their personal con.
duct, are an additional incitement TO earnest and
unrcmittng lsbors for the instruction Of mankind
that civil rights have no dependence on our re-
hgious 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 officcs of trust and emolument, unless he pro-
fess 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 natural right that II tends also
to corrupt the principles Of the very religion IL IL
meant TO encourage, by bribing, with monopoly
Of worldly honors, those who win externally pro-
fess and conform to III that though, indeed, those
are criminal who do not Withstand such tempts-
tions, yet neither are those innocent who lay the
bait in their way /; that 10 suffer the civil ma
gstrate TO intrude his powers into the field of opn
ion and to RESTRAIN the profession propagation Of
principles on the supposition of their III tendency
is dangerous fallacy which at once destroys ali
religious liberty, because, he being of course Judge
Of that tendency win make his opinions the rule
Of Judgment and approve or condemn the santi
ments of others only as they shall square with, or
differ from, 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 pence and good order; and
finally, that truth IL great and win prevail iflef TO
herself that she Ia the proper and sufficient antsg
onist Of error, and has nothing to fear from the
conflict, unless by human interpositon dissrned Of
her natural weapons, free argument and debate