The Framers’ Debates on Religion

The First Amendment and the Utah Constitution

Lesson I. Historical Background

Step 7. A New Nation

Framing America

June 12, 1776

Virginia Declaration of Rights

James Madison recommends changing George Mason’s draft of the Virginia Declaration of Rights from “toleration” to “free exercise of religion.”
June 12, 1776
July 4, 1776

Declaration of Independence

Representing 13 former colonies, 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress sign the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, primarily written by Thomas Jefferson.

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

July 4, 1776
June 21, 1788

The U.S. Constitution Ratified

The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia concluded on September 17, 1787, and George Washington sent the newly written Constitution to the states for consideration. To go into effect, nine states must ratify it. New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify on June 21, 1788. There is only one mention of religion in the original U.S. Constitution, referred to as the No Religious Test for Public Office Clause (Article VI.3.):
“No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”
June 21, 1788
1777–1798

Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

First drafted in 1777, Thomas Jefferson introduced A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom in the Virginia state legislature in 1779. The legislature blocked its serious consideration. By 1789, James Madison maneuvered the bill through the new state’s Virginia General Assembly leading to the passage of Jefferson’s Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom. This statute officially disestablished the Anglican Church from the state of Virginia. It prohibited residents from being compelled by the state to practice or finance religion and ensured that they would not “suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief.” This document laid the legal framework for Madison’s proposal to prohibit the federal government from establishing a national church and limiting the government’s power to regulate a person’s free exercise of religion
1777–1798
March 4, 1789 to March 4, 1791

The First Federal Congress

The primary subject of this curriculum is to examine Framers of the First Federal Congress. From March 4, 1789 to March 4, 1791, they met in New York City, New York, the first capital of the United States, to debate adding a Bill of Rights.
March 4, 1789 to March 4, 1791
Lesson I. Step 7 of 9
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