New Jersey Constitution (1844):
<PREAMBLE. We, the people of the State of New Jersey, grateful to Almighty God for the civil and religious liberty which He hath so permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing upon our endeavors to secure and transmit the same unimpaired to succeeding generations, do ordain and establish this constitution.
ARTICLE 1, SECTION 3. No person shall be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshipping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience; nor under any pretense whatever be compelled to attend any place of worship contrary to his faith and judgment; nor shall any person be obliged to pay tithes, taxes, or other rates for building or repairing any Church or Churches, place or places of worship, or for the maintenance of any minister or Ministry, contrary to what he believes to be right, or has deliberately and voluntarily engaged to perform.
ARTICLE 1, SECTION 4. There shall be no establishment of one religious sect in preference to another; no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust; and no person shall be denied the enjoyment of any civil right merely on account of his religious principles.> 1844CT002
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1844CT002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). New Jersey Constitution, 1844.