Early Virginia and Seperation of Church and State

Having run across several comments on my posts about separation of Church and State. One asking where does it say in the Constitution that there should be separation? We think that we should clarify our opinion on this issue.

It is our opinion that Separation of Church and State are both good for the Church and the State. And let me state right out front America is not a Godless country. And that is something that is intrinsic to America. The right to worship if you are Christian, Muslim or any of the religions that make up the landscape of America, should not be infringed upon by government. And in the alternate respect, religions should not try influence the government in respect to the morality code it would like to see imposed on all citizens.

This was recognized early in Virginia's history. At one time the Church of England virtually ruled Virginia. Eventually, and slowly, Virginia began to evolve and embrace new ideas of how to govern itself. Jefferson in one of his famous letters called for a wall of separation between Church and State. When you look more closely at time, petitions were even made to put ministers on the state payroll.

Virginians in their wisdom, decided there was a place for the State and a place for religion. This did not separate God from the government. In fact most of our laws are based on moral concepts derived from religion. How to act and how to behave. But the most important concept that early Virginians gave to us is the concept that Church and State should be separated, so no one group could be favored over another. To read more go to Petitioning in Eighteenth-Century Virginia


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