Thomas Jefferson Calls for Religious

Thomas Jefferson Calls for Religious Freedom in Virginia (1786)

Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, was the person most responsible for normalizing religious freedom in America. In this document, Jefferson argues against the intolerant policies in Virginia, still extant after independence. The document reflects Jefferson's sentiments about religious freedom, which he eventually helped imbed in the American constitution in the first Amendment. The letter to the Virginia state assembly is written as a public address. Its tone is argumentative and firm. Jefferson's thesis is stated most explicitly in Section 2: "no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever...all men shall be free to profess...their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil liberties." No one should be forced by law to practice any faith, and all persons should be allowed to express their religious values openly and without any retribution.

Document 2: The Bill of Rights (1791)

The first ten amendments to the Constitution are collectively called the Bill of Rights. Therefore, the Bill of Rights is a public document that is also legally binding: it represents the highest legal contract in the United States. The Bill of Rights mainly declares the civil rights and freedoms that American citizens are entitled to including the ones we hold most dear including freedom of religion, of speech, and of press. Others, like the right to a speedy trial, have also become part of the fabric of the American psyche. The document has no stated author but James Madison is credited with at least partial authorship.

Document 3: Benjamin Banneker to Thomas Jefferson (1791)