While watching PBS recently, the “Battle for the Bible” on the Secrets of the Dead series had me thinking about the current political climate and the role of faith in government. Democrats aren’t all godless heathens and the GOP is not full of saints. Of course, we want leaders whose decisions are based on their faith and moral grounding. The last part of this great show mentioned Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which served as the foundation for the related provisions in the our Bill of Rights.
Watching this documentary online is time well spent because we should know the effort and process of translating the Bible into English.
The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, 16 January 1786
Be it enacted by General Assembly that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of Religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities.
http://www.lva.virginia.gov/lib-edu/education/bor/vsrftext.htm
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