Prior to the American Revolution, no western nation had ever been founded explicitly without a state religion. Eleven of the thirteen colonies had established churches. The philosophy and politics of the revolutionary era encouraged the founders to forge a radical path for the future. They were motivated by the doctrine of natural rights, by revolutionary passions and by the pressure of growing numbers of religious dissenters who wanted to evangelize freely. They therefore codified the ideal of freedom of religion in law. The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was the first such law and was followed by the First Amendment to our national Constitution and by similar laws in other states. Now, religious liberty has become a part of our historical DNA and is regarded worldwide as a universal human right.

Virginia Statute Interactive

Thomas Jefferson

James Madison