Sacred Rights of Conscience, The: Selected Readings on Religious Liberty and Church-State Relations in the American Founding
The Sacred Rights of Conscience provides students and scholars a rich collection of primary sources that illuminate the discussions and debates about religious liberty in the American founding era. This compilation of primary documents provides a thorough and balanced examination of the evolving relationship between public religion and American culture, from pre-colonial biblical and European sources to the early nineteenth century, to allow the reader to explore the social and political...
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"The pursuit of religious liberty has been one of the grand principles of the American experiment. In The Sacred Rights of Conscience, scholars Daniel L. Dreisbach and Mark David Hall present an unprecedented collection of primary documents that illustrate the creation of distinctively American approaches to religious liberty and church-state relations. The rights of conscience and prudential relationships between religion and public life have been a source of controversy since the first settlements in the New World, and they continue to provoke energetic debate today. This volume provides a thorough and balanced examination of the evolving relationships between public religion and American culture from pre-colonial times through the early nineteenth century. This collection allows the reader to explore the social and political forces that defined the concept of religious liberty and shaped American church-state relations." "Students and scholars of American history, politics, law, theology, and religion will relish this collection of primary source material, much of it unavailable or hard to find in other published collections. The original documents have been gathered from both public and private papers and include constitutions, statutes, legislative resolutions, speeches, sermons, newspapers, letters, and diaries. The editors have written a rich introduction to the collection, placing these documents within a historical context and explaining their significance, as well as brief introductions to each chapter and headnotes to selections. A bibliography of major works on religion in American public life directs readers to additional primary sources and secondary literature. Theappendixes include a chronology of American church-state developments and an outline of the crucial deliberations in the first federal Congress leading to the language of the First Amendment religious clause." Not a collection of dusty documents of interest only to academics, this volume is of direct relevance to current debates about religious liberty and church-state relations. Today's concerns about the place and role of religion in public life are strikingly similar to those of the early nineteenth century. Then, as well as now, judicial decisions and societal opinions were shaped by the history of ideas and law presented here. These documents are a vivid reminder that religion was a dynamic factor in shaping American culture and that there has been a struggle since the inception of the republic to define the prudential and constitutional role of religion in public culture.
List of Illustrations xix introduction: The Pursuit of Religious Liberty in America xxi\ part i Antecedents of the Principles Governing Religious Liberty and Church-State Relations in America\ chapter one Biblical and European Heritages 3\ king james version of the holy scriptures 4\ Genesis 1:26 – 27; 3:1 – 24 4\ Exodus 1:15 – 21; 18:13 – 27; 20:1 – 17 6\ Leviticus 25:10 7\ Leviticus 26:1 – 46 8\ Deuteronomy 13:1 – 5; 17:1 – 20 9\ I Samuel 8 11\ II Chronicles 7:14 12\ Proverbs 14:34; 29:2 12\ Isaiah 49:22 – 23; 60:12 12\ Matthew 5:38 – 48; 22:15 – 22 12\ Luke 22:38 13\ John 18:36 13\ Acts 5:27 – 29 13\ Romans 13:1 – 8 14\ II Corinthians 6:14 – 18 14\ I Peter 2:9 – 3:6 14\ european influences 15\ St. Augustine, City of God, 410 – 26 16\ St. Augustine, On the Correction of the Donatists, c. 417 16\ St. Thomas Aquinas, On the Government of Princes, 1267 17\ Martin Luther, Temporal Authority: To What Extent It Should Be Obeyed,\ 1523 19\ The Schleitheim Confession of Faith, 1527 21\ John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian S Religion, 1559 24 \ Act of Supremacy, 1534 27\ Act of Uniformity, 1559 27\ Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England, 1562, and 1801 American Revisions 27\ Richard Hooker, Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, 1590s 30\ The First London Baptist Confession of Faith, 1646 34\ Westminster Confession of Faith, 1646,\ and 1788 American Revisions 36\ Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, 1651 39\ William Penn, The Great Case of Liberty of Conscience, 1670 42\ John Locke, A Letter on Toleration, 1689 47\ John Locke, The Second Treatise, 1690 47\ Toleration Act, 1689 51\ John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon, Cato’s Letters: Letter 66, 1721 55\ Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws, 1748 60\ William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, 1769 62\ Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, 1776 76\ Recommendations for Further Reading 79\ part ii Creating the Principles Governing Religious Liberty and Church-State Relations in Colonial America\ chapter two Fundamental Laws, Declarations of Rights, and Public Acts on Ecclesiastical Establishments and Religious Liberty in Colonial America 83\ Articles, Laws, and Orders, Virginia,\ 1610 – 11 84\ The Mayflower Compact, 1620 86\ Providence Agreement, 1637 88\ Fundamental Orders of Connecticut,\ 1638 – 39 88\ The Laws and Liberties of Massachusetts,\ 1647 89\ Selected Laws of Rhode Island, 1647 103\ An Act Concerning Religion, Maryland,\ 1649 103\ Provisional Regulations for the Colonists of New Netherland, 1624 107\ Dutch West India Company Instructions,\ 1656 107\ Flushing Remonstrance, 1657 107\ Dutch West India Company Instructions,\ 1663 107\ Massachusetts General Court, An Act Made at a General Court, Held at Boston, the\ 20th of October, 1658 110\ Massachusetts General Court, A Declaration of the General Court of the Massachusetts Holden at Boston in New-England, October 18, 1659. Concerning the Execution of Two Quakers 110\ An Act for the Suppressing the Quakers,\ Virginia, 1659 113\ Charter of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, 1663 114\ William Penn, Frame of Government of Pennsylvania, 1682 116\ William Penn, Laws Agreed Upon in England, &c., 1682 116\ The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina, 1669 119 S Recommendations for Further Reading 121 \ chapter three Letters, Tracts, and Sermons on Religious\ Roger Williams, Letter to the Town of Providence, 1654 146\ Nathaniel Ward, The Simple Cobbler of Aggawam in America, 1646 155\ Liberty and Duty in Colonial America 122\ John Winthrop, A Modell of Christian Charitie, 1630 123\ John Winthrop, Little Speech on Liberty,\ 1645 123\ John Cotton, A Discourse about Civil Government, 1637 – 39 133\ Roger Williams, Mr. Cottons Letter Lately Printed, Examined and Answered, 1644 146\ Roger Williams, The Bloudy Tenent, of Persecution, for Cause of Conscience,\ 1644 146\ The Cambridge Platform, 1648 165\ Elisha Williams, The Essential Rights and Liberties of Protestants, 1744 173\ Charles Chauncy, Civil Magistrates Must Be Just, Ruling in the Fear of God, 1747 179\ Samuel Davies, State of Religion among the Protestant Dissenters in Virginia, 1751 195\ Samuel Adams, The Rights of the Colonists, a List of Violations of Rights and a Letter of Correspondence, 1772 202\ Isaac Backus, An Appeal to the Public for Religious Liberty, 1773 204\ Recommendations for Further Reading 212\ part iii Framing the Constitutional Principles Governing Religious Liberty and Church-State Relations in the American Founding\ chapter four The Continental and Confederation Congresses and Church-State Relations 215\ John Adams, Letter to Abigail Adams,\ September 16, 1774 216\ Congressional Resolution Calling for a Day of Public Humiliation, Fasting,\ and Prayer, June 1775 217\ Rules and Orders for the Continental Army, June 1775 218\ Congressional Chaplains, 1775 – 88 218\ The Declaration of Independence,\ July 4, 1776 220\ Congressional Resolution Calling for a Day of Thanksgiving, November 1, 1777 222\ The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, November 1777 224\ Congressional Resolution Recommending the Promotion of Morals, October\ 1778 225\ Congressional Resolution Calling for a Day of Fasting, Humiliation, and Prayer,\ March 20, 1779 226\ Congressional Resolution Calling for a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer,\ October 1780 228\ Texts Concerning the National Seal,\ August 1776 and June 1782 229\ Aitken’s Bible, January 21, 1781, and September 12, 1782 230\ Congressional Resolution Calling for a Day of Thanksgiving, October 18,\ 1783 233\ An Ordinance for the Government of the S Territory of the United States, NorthWest of the River Ohio [Northwest Ordinance], July 1787 236\ Recommendations for Further Reading 238\ chapter five State Constitutions, Laws, and Papers on Church and State in Revolutionary America 239\ Virginia Declaration of Rights, 1776 241\ Pennsylvania Constitutions, 1776 and 1790 241\ South Carolina Constitution, 1778 243\ Massachusetts Constitution, 1780 245\ A Bill Concerning Religion, Virginia, 1779 247\ A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, Virginia, 1779 and 1786 250\ A Bill for Punishing Disturbers of Religious Worship and Sabbath Breakers, Virginia, 1786 251\ A Bill for Appointing Days of Public Fasting and Thanksgiving, Virginia, 1779 252\ A Bill Establishing a Provision for Teachers of the Christian Religion, Virginia, 1784 252\ Resolutions and Address by the Maryland House of Delegates, January 8, 1785 253\ B. F. Morris, State Constitutional Provisions and Proclamations Related to Religion 257\ Recommendations for Further Reading 265\ chapter six Petitions, Essays, and Sermons on Church and State in Revolutionary America 266\ Petition of the German Congregation of Culpeper, Virginia, October 1776 267\ Petition of Sundry Inhabitants of Prince Edward County, Virginia, October 11,\ 1776 268\ Memorial of the Presbytery of Hanover,\ Virginia, October 24, 1776 269\ Memorial from Clergy of the Established Church, Virginia, November 8, 1776 270\ Memorial of the Presbytery of Hanover,\ Virginia, June 3, 1777 272\ Worcestriensis, Number IV, September 4,\ 1776 273\ Isaac Backus, A Declaration of the Rights, of the Inhabitants of the State of Massachusetts-Bay, in New-England,\ 1779 276\ John Witherspoon, Sermon Delivered at a Public Thanksgiving after Peace, 1782 278\ Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVII and Query XVIII,\ 1782, 1787 290\ Petition for Equality by the Philadelphia Synagogue to Council of Censors of Pennsylvania, 1783 294\ George Washington, Circular to the States,\ 1783 296\ Memorial of the Presbytery of Hanover,\ Virginia, May 26, 1784 298\ Memorial of the Presbytery of Hanover,\ Virginia, November 12, 1784 301\ Memorial of the Presbytery of Hanover,\ Virginia, November 2, 1785 304\ Petition in Favor of Religious Assessments from Westmoreland County, Virginia, November 2, 1784 307\ Petition Against Religious Assessments from Westmoreland County, Virginia, November 2, 1784 307\ James Madison, A Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments, 1785 309\ Publius [James Madison], The Federalist Papers, Number 10, 1787 314\ Publius [James Madison], The Federalist Papers, Number 51, 1788 314\ Thomas Reese, An Essay on the Influence of Religion in Civil Society, 1788 316 \ John Leland, The Rights of Conscience Inalienable, 1791 335\ Recommendations for Further Reading 345\ chapter seven References to God and the Christian Religion in the U.S. Constitution 346\ Benjamin Franklin, Call for Prayer in the Constitutional Convention, June 28,\ 1787 348\ U.S. Constitution, 1788 349\ Publius [James Madison], The Federalist Papers, Number 37, 1788 350\ William Williams, Letter to the Landholder, February 11, 1788 351\ Essay by Elihu, February 18, 1788 352\ Benjamin Rush, Letter to Elias Boudinot(?), July 9, 1788 353\ Benjamin Rush, Letter to John Adams,\ June 15, 1789 355\ Address of the Presbytery of the Eastward to George Washington, October 28,\ 1789 355\ George Washington, Letter to the Presbyterian Ministers of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, November 2, 1789 357\ Timothy Dwight, Jr., A Discourse, in Two Parts, 1812 358\ Timothy Dwight, Jr., President Dwight’s Decisions of Questions Discussed by the Senior Class in Yale College, in 1813 and\ 1814, 1833 359\ Alexander M’Leod, A Scriptural View of the Character, Causes, and Ends of the Present War, 1815 359\ James R. Willson, Prince Messiah’s Claims to Dominion over All Governments: and the Disregard of His Authority by the\ United States, in the Federal Constitution, 1832 360\ James A. Bayard, Jr., A Brief Exposition of the Constitution of the United States,\ 1833 364\ Recommendations for Further Reading 365\ chapter eight The Religious Test Ban of the U.S.\ Constitution 366\ Benjamin Franklin, Letter to Richard Price, October 9, 1780 368\ Noah Webster, On Test Laws, Oaths of Allegiance and Abjuration, and Partial Exclusions from Office, March\ 1787 368\ Records of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 370\ U.S. Constitution, Article VI, Clause 3,\ 1788 373\ Jonas Phillips, Letter to the President and Members of the Constitutional Convention, September 7, 1787 374\ James Madison, Letter to Edmund Pendleton, October 28, 1787 375\ An American Citizen [Tench Coxe],\ An Examination of the Constitution for the United States of America, 1788 375\ A Landholder [Oliver Ellsworth], No. 7,\ December 17, 1787 376\ William Williams, Letter to the Landholder, February 11, 1788 379\ Publius [James Mdison], The Federalist Papers, Number 52, 1788 380\ Publius [James Madison], The Federalist Papers, Number 57, 1788 381\ James Madison, Letter to Edmund Randolph, April 10, 1788 381\ Luther Martin, The Genuine Information,\ 1788 382\ Essay by Samuel, Boston, January 10, S\ 1788 382\ A Friend to the Rights of the People, New Hampshire, February 8, 1788 383\ Letter by David, March 7, 1788 383\ Aristocrotis, The Government of Nature Delineated; or An Exact Picture of the New Federal Constitution, 1788 385\ Debate in Connecticut Ratifying Convention, January 9, 1788 388\ Debate in Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, January 19, 23, 30, and February 4, 1788 388\ Debate in Virginia Ratifying Convention,\ June 6, 10, and 12, 1788 391\ Debate in North Carolina Ratifying Convention, July 30, 1788 394\ Proposed Amendment, South Carolina Ratifying Convention, May 23, 1788 400\ Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States,\ 1833 400\ Recommendations for Further Reading 404\ chapter nine The First Amendment to the U.S.\ Constitution 405\ George Mason, Objections to This Constitution of Government,\ c. September 16, 1787 407\ Richard Henry Lee, Proposed Amendments, October 1, 1787 407\ John Leland, Objections to the Constitution, February 28, 1788 408\ John Francis Mercer, A Farmer, No. 1,\ February 15, 1788 409\ John Francis Mercer, A Farmer, No. 7,\ April 11, 1788 410\ Thomas Jefferson, Letter to James Madison, December 20, 1787 412\ James Madison, Letter to Thomas Jefferson, October 17, 1788 413\ Selected Amendments Proposed by the State Ratifying Conventions 415\ James Madison, Speech in the First Congress Introducing Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, June 8, 1789 418\ Debates in the First Congress on the Religion Clauses, 1789 426\ U.S. Constitution, Amendment I, 1791 433\ Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States,\ 1833 433\ Recommendations for Further Reading 438\ part iv Defining and Testing the Constitutional Principles Governing Religious Liberty and Church-State Relations in the New Nation\ chapter ten Religion and the Public Policy and Culture of the New Nation 441\ oaths of office, 1788 – 91 442\ U.S. Constitution, 1788 442\ An Act to Regulate the Time and Manner of Administering Certain Oaths, June 1,\ 1789 442\ B. F. Morris, Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States, 1864 443\ U.S. Constitution, Fourth Amendment,\ 1791 445\ religion and the presidency 446\ George Washington, inaugural address,\ April 30, 1789 446\ John Adams, inaugural address, March 4,\ 1797 448\ Thomas Jefferson, inaugural address,\ March 4, 1801 449\ James Madison, inaugural addresses,\ March 4, 1809, and March 4, 1813 452\ George Washington, presidential proclamations, October 3, 1789, and January 1, 1795 453\ John Adams, presidential proclamations,\ March 23, 1798, and March 6, 1799 455\ James Madison, presidential proclamations, July 9, 1812, July 23, 1813, November 16,\ 1814, and March 4, 1815 458\ George Washington, Letter to the United Baptist Churches of Virginia, May 10,\ 1789 461\ George Washington, Letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, August 18, 1790 464\ Alexander Hamilton, Draft of Washington’s Farewell Address, July 1796 465\ George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796 468\ George Washington, Letter to the Philadelphia Clergy, March 3, 1797 470\ John Adams, Letter to the Officers of the First Brigade of the Third Division of the Militia of Massachusetts, October 11,\ 1798 471\ congressional chaplains and actions of congress 471\ Congressional Chaplains, 1789 472\ An Act to Provide for the Government of the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio [Northwest Ordinance],\ August 7, 1789 473\ An Act for the Punishment of Certain Crimes against the United States,\ April 30, 1790 473\ Military Chaplains and Regulations, 1791,\ 1806 473\ An Act Regulating the Grants of Land Appropriated for Military Services, and for the Society of the United Brethren, for\ Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen, June 1, 1796 475\ treaties 475\ Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the United States of America and the Bey and Subjects of Tripoli, of Barbary,\ 1797 475\ Treaty with Kaskaskia Indians, 1803 476\ Recommendations for Further Reading 477\ chapter eleven Religion and Politics in the Election of\ 1800 478\ pamphlets 480 [William Linn], Serious Considerations on the Election of a President: Addressed to the Citizens of the United States, New York, 1800 480\ Grotius [DeWitt Clinton], A Vindication of Thomas Jefferson; against the Charges Contained in a Pamphlet Entitled, \ “Serious Considerations,” &c.,\ New York, 1800 493\ private correspondence 513\ Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Benjamin Rush, September 23, 1800 513\ Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Dr. Joseph Priestley, March 21, 1801 514\ Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Moses Robinson, March 23, 1801 516 \ Abigail Adams, Letter to Thomas Jefferson,\ July 1, 1804 516\ John Adams, Letter to Benjamin Rush,\ June 12, 1812 518\ Recommendations for Further Reading 519\ chapter twelve Thomas Jefferson and the “Wall of Separation” 520\ roots of the metaphor 522\ Richard Hooker, Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, 1590s 522\ Roger Williams, Mr. Cottons Letter Lately Printed, Examined and Answered,\ 1644 523 [James Burgh], Crito, or Essays on Various Subjects, 1767 524\ jefferson and the “wall of separation” metaphor 525\ Danbury Baptist Association, Letter to Thomas Jefferson, October 7, 1801 526\ Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Attorney General Levi Lincoln, January 1,\ 1802 527\ Levi Lincoln, Letter to Thomas Jefferson,\ January 1, 1802 527\ Gideon Granger, Letter to Thomas Jefferson, December 1801 528\ Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Messrs.\ Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins,\ and Stephen S. Nelson, January 1, 1802 528\ understanding jefferson’s metaphor 530\ Thomas Jefferson, Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1805 530\ Thomas Jefferson, Letter to the Reverend Samuel Miller, January 23, 1808 531\ the metaphor and american law 532\ Reynolds v. United States, 1879 532\ Everson v. Board of Education, 1947 533\ Wallace v. Jaffree, 1985 534\ Recommendations for Further Reading 536\ chapter thirteen Christianity, the Common Law, and the American Order 537\ essays and letters 539\ Thomas Jefferson, Whether Christianity Is Part of the Common Law? [1764?] 539\ Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper, February 10, 1814 543\ Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Major John\ Cartwright, June 5, 1824 547 [Joseph Story], Christianity a Part of the Common Law, 1833 551\ Is Christianity a Part of the Common-Law of England? 1836 552\ judicial opinions 559\ People v. Ruggles, 1811 559\ Updegraph v. Commonwealth, 1824 561\ State v. Chandler, 1837 570\ Recommendations for Further Reading 587\ chapter fourteen Reflections on the American Church-State Experiment 588\ James Madison, Detached Memoranda,\ c. 1817 589\ James Madison, Letter to Robert Walsh,\ March 2, 1819 594\ James Madison, Letter to Jacob de la Motta,\ August 1820 595 \ Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Jacob de la Motta, September 1, 1820 596\ James Madison, Letter to Edward Livingston, July 10, 1822 596\ Jasper Adams, The Relation of Christianity to Civil Government in the United States, 1833 597\ John Marshall, Letter to Jasper Adams,\ May 9, 1833 611\ Joseph Story, Letter to Jasper Adams,\ May 14, 1833 611\ James Madison, Letter to Jasper Adams,\ September 1833 612\ Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 1835 614\ Recommendations for Further Reading 621\ appendixes Historical Chronology, 1607 – 1833 625\ Summary of Deliberations in the First Federal Congress on the First Amendment Religion Provisions, 1789 637\ Selected Bibliography 641\ Index 651
