Traces the history and development of the debate over the separation of religion and government in the United States through a collection of primary documents.
Front Cover.
Half Title Page.
Advisory Board.
Title Page.
Copyright Page.
Contents.
Series Foreword.
Introduction.
Chronology of Key Events.
1: Colonial Roots of Religious Liberty, 1606–1776.
First Charter of Virginia (November 20, 1606).
Acts of the Virginia Colonial Government on Religion (1624 and 1630).
Charter of Massachusetts Bay (March 4, 1629).
Acts of the Massachusetts Colonial Government on Religion (1631, 1635, and 1638).
Massachusetts Body of Liberties (December 10, 1641).
Massachusetts School Law (November 11, 1647).
Maryland Toleration Act (April 21, 1649).
Rhode Island Charter (July 8, 1663).
The Great Case of Liberty of Conscience (William Penn, 1670).
Great Law of Pennsylvania (December 7, 1682).
A Letter Concerning Toleration (John Locke, 1689).
Charter of Privileges of Pennsylvania (Granted by William Penn, October 28, 1701).
Letter to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (The Reverend Thomas Barton, November 8, 1762).
An Appeal to the Public for Religious Liberty (The Reverend Isaac Backus, 1773).
2: Religious Liberty in the Founding of the United States, 1776–1791.
The Virginia Declaration of Rights (June 12, 1776).
Articles on Religion in the Pennsylvania Declaration of Rights and Constitution (1776).
Articles on Religion in the Maryland Declaration of Rights (1776).
The Massachusetts Declaration of Rights (1780).
Liberty of Worship in America (Hector St. John de Crevecoeur, 1782).
An Argument for Religious Liberty in Notes on the State of Virginia (Thomas Jefferson, 1782).
Letter on the Selection of a Roman Catholic Bishop in the United States of America (Father John Carroll, February 27, 1785).
Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments (James Madison, June 20, 1785).
The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (Thomas Jefferson, January 16, 1786).
Article VI of the United States Constitution (1787).
An Argument Against a Religious Test for Public Office (Oliver Ellsworth,
