...We remonstrate against the said Bill, 1. Because we hold it for a fundamental and undeniable truth, "that Religion or the duty which we owe to our Creator...reason and conviction, not by force or violence." The Religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man; and it is...

...We remonstrate against the said Bill, 1. Because we hold it for a fundamental and undeniable truth, fifths of all [Virginia Declaration of Rights, art. 16] The Religion then of even1 man must be left to the conviction...

..."We remonstrate against the said Bill, 1. Because we hold it for a fundamental and undeniable truth, that Religion or the duty which we owe to our Creator...by reason and conviction, not by force or violence. The Religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man; and it is...

...privilege and immunity, enjoyed by others their fellow subjects. Rhode Island Constitution of 1790 4 . That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator,...it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, and not by force or violence, and therefore all men, have an equal, natural and unalienable right to...

...proposed Virginia bill that was formed to create a tax to support Christian teachers, and in it, he stated that "...Religion or the duty which we owe to our Creator and the manner of discharging it, can only be dictated by reason and conviction and the conscience of every man.... This right is in its...

...the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1785, succinctly sums up the thinking of our Founding Fathers: ". . . that Religion or the duty which we owe to our Creator and the manner of discharging it, can he directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence. The Religion then of every man...

...2001, 3 et seq. 6 See Article 16 of the Virginia Bill of Rights of 12 June 1776: "That religion... can be directed only by reason and conviction, 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...

...Everson case, according to Moore, the courts had consistently relied on Madison's definition of religion: "the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it."12 Relying on this definition, the courts typically interpreted the establishment and free exercise...

...VIRGINIA CONSTITUTION Article I, Section 16 Free exercise of religion; no establishment of religion. That religion or the duty which we owe to our Creator,...conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore, all men are equally entitle to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and...

...various state constitutions of the time. The Virginia Declaration of Rights, for example, proclaims that "religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator,...conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion. . . ." 29 Thus, while a great many of America's...