Transcript

From Toleration to Free Exercise in Virginia. Soon, the American colonies erupted into revolution. In 1776, Virginia was the first to declare separation from England and begin to reform its legal code. Ten weeks before the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence, the Fifth Virginia Convention began drafting the Virginia Declaration of Rights. George Mason, a respected lawyer among the delegates, wrote the first draft including this language about religion: “…all men should enjoy the fullest toleration in the exercise of religion…” Toleration meant that the government gave permission to worship outside of the established church. James Madison argued that toleration allowed the state to grant religious freedom to some people and justify the persecution of others. It meant the power to grant or deny religious rights rested within the state. Madison proposed new language, which passed the assembly: “…all men are entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience…” This change recognized the right of conscience as an inherent right or the natural right of a human being, not given by permission from the state. Ten years later, Virginia officially disestablished the Anglican Church, meaning it dissolved the relationship between the government and the established church. No more tax money supported an official government church and Virginia was the first to make this change. Other states would eventually follow and disestablish their state churches.