Transcript First Amendment

THE TRUE MEANING OF SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
Ed ward Tabash, Attorney at Law 4 33 North Camden Drive, Suite 600
Bev erly Hills, California 90210 3 10-279-5120; Fax: 310-279-5119
[email protected]; www.tabash.com Copyright © 2013 Edward Tabash
president of the United States, who collaborated on religious liberty
issues with Thomas Jefferson, wrote the Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments in opposition to
a proposal in the Virginia Legislature to use government funds for the support of any ministry. Madison wrote that
the religion of each individual must be left to the conviction and conscience of each individual. He also said that
such a right is inalienable because each of us makes up our minds about religion on only that evidence which our
minds contemplate and thus we cannot follow the dictates of others.
1785: James Madison, future 4
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1786: The Virginia Legislature passes into law the Bill for Religious Freedom,
written by both future 3d President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson,
and Madison. In this measure, they wrote that a person’s civil rights should
not depend in any way on that person’s opinions on religion. They also wrote
that everyone should be free to profess and to argue for any view on matters
of religion, and that no one’s legal rights should depend in any way on those
views, whatever they may be.
1787: Jefferson publishes his Notes on the State of Virginia, in which he
wrote: “It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are 20 gods or no
god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” This is unmistakable
evidence that Jefferson was striving toward a society in which believer and