Reflections from History and Faith: Religious Freedom Day

By Jeff Olson

Thursday, January 16th is Religious Freedom Day in America. This day was chosen because it is the anniversary of the passage of the Virginia Statute For Religious Freedom, drafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1777 and introduced and carried through to passage by James Madison in 1786. It would do well for each of us to read this document as it is a remarkable declaration of intellectual and spiritual independence and one of the most dramatic and influential documents in American history. It was also very prominent in the disestablishment of state churches in the American colonies.

There is a tremendous amount of history surrounding this document which will not be found in modern day history books or even on the web site proclaiming this anniversary. What I would like to do here is provide briefly some background and details which I think will give you some additional appreciation and perspective for not only the document’s contents but also something of its broader historical context. And, it will reveal Jefferson’s concept of religious freedom which has been so misrepresented by the metaphor, “wall of separation between church and state.”

The approval of the Declaration of Independence not only signaled political autonomy of the American colonies from the English crown, but also severed the colonies’ formal legal ties with the mother country. It was therefore necessary to bring the laws of the individual colonies into conformity with republican principles and to remove the existing legal code of any remaining vestiges of Monarchical rule. Thus, in the fall of 1776, a committee of prominent Virginians under the chairmanship of Thomas Jefferson was commissioned by the Virginia legislature to “revise, alter, amend, repeal, or introduce all or any of the said laws” of the Commonwealth.

This “Revisal of the Laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia” was comprised of a total of 126 bills. Bill Number 82 of the Revisals, Jefferson’s “Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom,” was only the first of five consecutive bills dealing with religion. Jefferson himself assumed responsibility for drafting the bills. Bill 82 in its essential parts enacted four things: no person shall (1) be compelled by civil government to attend or support any religious worship, place, or ministry, nor (2) be punished or restrained by the Commonwealth on account of his/her religious opinions or beliefs; but, on the contrary, every person shall (3) be free to profess and contend for his religious opinions and beliefs, and (4) such activity shall in no way affect his/her civil capacities. Here you can sense that the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom proclaimed a cooperative connection between religion and the state.

Bill 82 as well as Bills 83 through 86 of the Revisals were all linked together and as a whole are inconsistent with the Supreme Court’s argument that the First Amendment’s original intent was to erect a “high and impregnable wall of separation” between church and state per Everson vs. Board of Education (1947) and the Court’s historical reference to the Virginia Statute to substantiate it. These bills essentially suggested a flexible church-state model which promoted an accommodation between the interests of the church and the civil government and prohibited governmental interference with the freedom of religious beliefs and expression. These bills also shed more light on Jefferson’s actual views on religious freedom which have been distorted by the courts, the media, and in classrooms during the years since. The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, while not the first state legislation to expand religious liberty, was nevertheless a significant achievement in America’s journey towards religious freedom.

Celebrating Religious Freedom Day has taken form also in many churches in America through the recognition of Religious Freedom Sunday which will be on January 19th this year. The week of January 16 presents several good opportunities to celebrate an important cornerstone of our nation’s history, including doing so within an environment of praise, worship and honor to Almighty God for his legacy of blessings on our nation, and to seek His face and forgiveness in healing our troubled land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

About Author

Jeri Pearson

Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.

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