In the colony of Virginia the established or state church existed, and it was the law that any person who did not conform thereto should be punished by burning to death. This is startling, isn't it, to hear of such a brutal law upon American soil? Virginia afterwards became the pioneer in legislation establishing freedom of worship, but it took the most strenuous efforts of Thomas Jefferson through many years to finally wipe out these cruel laws and establish freedom of worship.(53)
The Virginia statute granting absolute freedom of worship was the first ever adopted in the history of the world by any state or nation, the first guaranty of the right. Freedom of worship had existed before this in Maryland under the generous rule of Lord Baltimore, but the first formal statute was adopted in Virginia.
Now your teachers tell me that in this school the pupils belong to sixteen different churches. I suppose each one of you thinks that the church to which he belongs is better than any of the others. I hope you do. I hope that every child is sincere in his religious belief, whatever it may be. But how would you feel if some representative of the State should come here this morning, and announce that a law had been passed by which every pupil must belong to the Baptist, the Methodist, the Catholic, or the Jewish church? How would you feel if a law were to be read to you which provided that unless you changed your religious belief and adopted some other, you would be burned to death out here on the hillside? You can hardly believe that such a thing would be possible in any age of the world; and yet never forget that the foregoing provision which I have read from the Constitution of the United States was the first declaration of the right of the people of a whole Nation to worship God according to their own will, their own conscience.
The declaration of this great right by the Constitution of the United States has been in full force ever since the adoption of the Constitution, not only as a National law, but similar provisions have been made the policy, usually by the Constitution, of every State in the Union. What a glorious thing it is to live in a Nation and in an age where no man, no state, and no power can tell you what to believe, or how to express your belief, what church you shall attend, or in what manner you shall express your religious faith.