Virginia (June 25, 1788) was the 10th State admitted to the Union. The Constitution of the State of Virginia, ratified June 12, 1776, stated:
<Bill of Rights, Article XVI. That Religion, or the Duty which we owe our Creator, and the Manner of discharging it, can be directed only by Reason and Convictions, not by Force or Violence; and therefore all Men are equally entitled to the free exercise of Religion, according to the Dictates of Conscience; and that it is the mutual Duty of all to practice Christian Forbearance, Love, and Charity towards each other.> 1788VA001
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1788VA001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Virginia, July 12, 1776; 1830; 1851; 1868; 1902; 1928, Constitution, Bill of Rights, Article I, Section 16. Frances Newton Thorpe, ed., Federal and State Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and Other Organic Laws of the States, Territories, and Colonies now or heretofore forming the United States, 7 vols. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1905; 1909; St. Clair Shores, MI: Scholarly Press, 1968), Vol. VII, p. 3814. Benjamin Franklin Morris, The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States (Philadelphia, PA: L. Johnson & Co., 1863; George W. Childs, 1864), p. 232. Henry Steele Commager, ed., Documents of American History, 2 vols. (NY: F.S. Crofts and Company, 1934; Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., 1948, 6th edition, 1958; Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc., 9th edition, 1973), pp. 103-104. Charles Fadiman, ed., The American Treasury (NY: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1955), p. 121. Charles E. Rice, The Supreme Court and Public Prayer (New York: Fordham University Press, 1964), pp. 175-176; "Hearings, Prayers in Public Schools and Other Matters," Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate (87th Cong., 2nd Sess.), 1962, pp. 268 et seq. The Annals of America, 20 vols. (Chicago, IL: Encyclopedia Britannica, 1968), Vol. 2, p. 433. Pat Robertson, America's Dates with Destiny (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986), pp. 80-81. "Our Christian Heritage," Letter form Plymouth Rock (Marlborough, NH: The Plymouth Rock Foundation), p. 3. Stephen McDowell and Mark Beliles, "The Providential Perspective" (Charlottesville, VA: The Providence Foundation, P.O. Box 6759, Charlottesville, Va. 22906, January 1994), Vol. 9, No. 1, p. 2. Edwin S. Gaustad, Neither King nor Prelate- Religion and the New Nation, 1776-1826 (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1993), p. 174.