One of the things that Thomas Jefferson most wished to be remembered for was his bill for religious freedom in Virginia. In it, he not only stated that people’s beliefs should not impact their civil rights in any way, but he explained why. “Almighty God hath created the mind free,” he said, and rather than compelling everyone to believe the same thing, “as was in his Almighty power to do,” God allows us to believe as we see fit — and if He doesn’t force belief on us, then why should we force it on each other? Furthermore, trying to force people to conform to a particular set of religious beliefs leads to “hypocrisy and meanness,” as people conform outwardly but insincerely in order to get rewards or avoid punishment.
Then what is the role of government when it comes to religious beliefs? Jefferson said that “the opinions of men are not the object of civil government, nor under its jurisdiction”, that allowing government officials to try and suppress any religious beliefs is “a dangerous falacy,” (his misspelling, not mine) “which at once destroys all religious liberty,” and that governments shouldn’t interfere in matters of religion unless and until religious beliefs “break out into overt acts against peace and good order”.
One of my favorite statements in the whole bill is that “our civil rights have no dependance on our religious opinions, any more than [on] our opinions in physics or geometry”. But perhaps the most important one for people today who sincerely worry about the “ill tendency” of this or that set of religious, political, or social beliefs is that “truth is great and will prevail if left to herself; that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict unless [she is] by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate; errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them.”
May we all apply such principles, not only to ourselves, but to others, even — perhaps especially — to those with whom we most disagree.
To read the whole bill and learn more about it, go to Founders Online.