Part 2. The Struggle of Roman Catholicism for Freedom to Exist and the Significance of the Results It Gained for Its Further Development (Cont.) (3)

The unsuccessful outcome of negotiations with Canada made it clear to the colonial representatives from the first steps what mistake they had made in allowing their Protestant prejudice against Catholics to express itself so sharply in their protest against the parliamentary act. This was an important lesson, showing that differences in religion could be the strongest obstacle to union against a common enemy. And it proved not fruitless. When in 1776 the “Declaration of Independence” was proclaimed and the colonies assembled in private conventions to draft new constitutions, the representatives of the people endeavored in every way to secure the organism of the newly born state by eliminating from it elements of discord, such as differences in religious confession, and in consequence placed religious questions outside the state, leaving religion to individual freedom. The constitutions of different colonies express this principle of religious freedom of conscience differently. The Constitution of Virginia, from July 5, 1778, declares that “religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be governed only by reason and conviction, not by force or compulsion; and therefore all men equally have the right to the free exercise of religion according to the dictates of conscience, and that mutual obligation of all to have Christian patience, love and kindness toward one another.”[1] The Constitution of New Jersey, from July 2, 1776, determines not only freedom of religious conscience but the separation of religion from the state. It declares that “in this province no establishment of any religious sect in preference to another” shall be made; “no person shall be obligated to pay tithes, taxes or other duties for the purpose of building or repairing a church or churches, place or places of worship, or for the support of a priest or clergy, contrary to what he considers right, or freely and voluntarily performs.”[2] The Constitution of Delaware, from September 20, 1776, ordains: “No person shall be compelled to attend or pay for any place of worship or support of clergy against his free will and consent… And no preference shall be given by law to any religious societies, confession or forms of worship.”[3] The Constitution of North Carolina, from December 18, 1776, ordains: “that there shall be no establishment of any one religious church or confession in this state in preference to others; and no person shall be, under any pretext whatsoever, compelled to attend any place of worship against his own faith or judgment, or be obliged to pay for the purchase of land or the building of a house of prayer, or for the support of a priest or clergy, contrary to what he considers right or freely and personally agreed to perform.”[4] The Constitution of Georgia, from February 5, 1777, says: “All persons shall have the free exercise of their religion, provided it is not contrary to the peace and security of the state; and they shall not, except by consent, support a teacher or teachers, except of their own confession.”[5] The Constitution of New York, from April 20, 1777, abrogates “all such parts of public and state law and acts of assembly which establish any confession of Christians or their priests.”[6] Such principles formed the basis of the constitutions of other states as well, although some of them did not entirely break the connection of religion and state. The Constitution of Maryland, from August 14, 1776, says: “Since it is the duty of every man to worship God in the manner he considers most favorable to Him, all persons professing the Christian religion have equally the right to protection of their religious conscience; therefore no person shall be injured by law in his person or condition because of his religious confession or conviction, or because of his religious activity, unless under the guise of religion someone violates good order, peace or safety of the state, or violates the laws of morality, or harms others in their natural, civil or religious rights. And no person shall be compelled to attend, support or pay, except by consent, for any particular place of worship or particular clergy; but the legislative assembly may, at its discretion, impose a general and equal tax for the support of the Christian religion, giving each person the right to designate the payment of money collected from him for the support of a particular place of worship or priest, or for the poor of his own confession, or for the poor generally of any separate county.”[7] The Constitution of South Carolina, from March 19, 1778, says: “No person shall be obligated by law to pay for the support and maintenance of religious worship to which he does not freely join or voluntarily agree to support”; but the same article provides that “Christian Protestant religion shall be deemed, and is hereby determined and declared, the established religion of this state,” extending this determination to “all confessions of Christian Protestants of the state.”[8] The Massachusetts Constitution, from March 2, 1780, says: “No subordination of one sect or confession to another shall be established by law,” but it allows taxes for the support of “public Protestant teachers of piety, religion and morality in all cases where it is not done voluntarily,” with the condition, however, that “all money paid by a subject for the support of public worship and said public teachers shall be, if he requires it, uniformly applied to the support of a public teacher or teachers of his own religious sect or confession, if there is one which he attends; otherwise the payment may be made to the support of a teacher or teachers of the parish or county in which said money is collected.”[9]