Essay On The Virginia Document For Establishing Religious Freedom

Primary Source Analysis Research Paper The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, originally titled A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, was written by Thomas Jefferson in 1777 in the state of Virginia as a law that would give religious freedom to the people of the state of Virginia. It was adopted and made into a statute on January 16th, 1786 by the Virginia General Assembly, affirming the rights of Virginians to choose their faith without coercion and established the concept of separation between church and state (Ragosta).

Jefferson’s Intent Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, at Shadwell, a large planation near present-day Charlottesville, Virginia. His father, Peter Jefferson, was owner of Shadwell planation and a surveyor, meanwhile, Jane Randolph Jefferson, Jefferson’s mother, came from a prominent family

The statute was used throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth century as a measure of true religious freedom and inspiration for new law (Ragosta, Encyclopedia Virginia: Virginia Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom (1786)). The statute was one of the source that Congress used when designing the Bill of Rights in 1789, which later established the free practice of religion and also prohibited Congress from creating and establishing any law that placed this freedom in jeopardy. (Education Library of Virginia) It also influenced and encouraged other countries to accept and pass laws establishing religious freedom and the separation of religious influence on governmental positions. (Ragosta, Encyclopedia Virginia: Virginia Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom (1786)) Overall, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom marked the state Virginia as a leader for religious freedom and populated the idea of separation between church and state or religion and governmental