Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
Reading Level: Elementary School
Thomas Jefferson. “An Act
for Establishing Religious
Freedom,” 16 January 1786.
Manuscript. Records of the
General Assembly, Enrolled
Bills, Record Group 78. Lab#
07_0071_01.
“I am for freedom of religion”
Thomas Jefferson wanted his tombstone to list the “things that he had
given the people.” It reads: “Here was buried Thomas Jefferson Author of
the Declaration of Independence of The Statute of Virginia for Religious
Freedom And Father of the University of Virginia.” Why did Jefferson
want the Statute for Religious Freedom on his tombstone?
America was settled by people who wanted religious freedom. Thomas
Jefferson believed in freedom of religion, too. He believed there should
be a “wall between church and state.” He did not believe people should
pay taxes to support any church. Jefferson worked to get rid of laws that
kept the church in power in Virginia. He had the support of Virginia’s
Quakers, Presbyterians and Baptists.
Jefferson wrote the “Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom.” The bill said
that “no man shall be compelled (forced) to frequent (go to) or support
any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever.” This was a new
idea at the time. In 1779, the bill was sent to the Virginia Assembly. It did
not become a law. But it brought together Thomas Jefferson and James
Madison. Madison agreed with Jefferson.
Jefferson left for Paris in 1784. He was the US foreign minister to France. It was up to James Madison to
get the bill made into a law. Madison presented the bill to the Virginia Assembly. In 1786, the bill passed
with only a few changes. Madison sent word to Jefferson in Paris.
When the bill passed, Virginia became the first state to separate church and state. It is still part of
Virginia’s constitution. It was used as a model for other state’s constitutions. It was also used as a model
for the religious language in the Bill of Rights: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
Thomas Jefferson believed the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom was one of his greatest
achievements. That is why it is written on his tombstone!
