Exhibit 524 ยท Statute
An Act for establishing religious Freedom (Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom)
no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever
Enacts that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry; declares in the preamble that compelling contributions for opinions one disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical and that forcing support of a particular teacher deprives a man of the liberty of giving to the pastor he chooses and withdraws from the ministry rewards proceeding from approbation of their conduct.
- Source
- Virginia General Assembly
- Date
- 16 January 1786 (signed 19 January)
- Quoted from
- Enacting clause, page 2 of the enrolled bill (Library of Virginia; Encyclopedia Virginia transcription, 'some spelling has been modernized')
- Grade
- Primary record
- Document
- https://encyclopediavirginia.org/primary-documents/an-act-for-establishing-religious-freedom-1786/
- Accessed
- 2026-11-09
- Cited by
- Findings citing this exhibit
- Note
- Preamble quotes also read: 'to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical' and 'to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion ... is a dangerous fallacy'.