In May 1776, delegates to the Virginia Convention (the de facto legislative that had come into being as royal government in Virginia collapsed) had voted to instruct Virginia's representatives in the Continental Congress in Philadelphia to call for the independence of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain. Soon thereafter, delegates to the Convention began working on a framework for the new Virginia government. The first order of business was to craft a declaration of rights for the people of Virginia. The first topic of debate was slavery. One of the delegates, George Mason, had written a draft declaration of rights which declared "all men [are] born equally free and independent." Another delegate, Robert Carter Nicholas, forced the members of the Convention to face the question: did "all men" include enslaved African Americans? Tragically, the Convention ended up accepting an amendment to Mason's language that limited its application to whites.
According to historian John E. Selby in his book, The Revolution in Virginia, 1775-1783 (which I am currently reading):
The article on religion [in Mason's draft declaration of rights], too, caused heated debate...Both Mason's draft and the [constitutional] committee's report proposed only "the fullest toleration " for [religious] dissenters [outside of the official Anglican church], thereby implying no disestablishment of the Anglican church. James Madison, then a freshman delegate from Orange County, where many religious dissenters lived, and a graduate of the Presbyterian college Princeton, objected strongly and jotted down on his printed copy of the committee's report an amendment that provided instead for "full and free exercise" of religion. Madison's proposal constituted one of the most creative contributions of the American Revolution, a major innovation in Western political thought. Previously, in Great Britain, where more religious freedom existed than anywhere else in Europe, recognition of the Anglican church as the official religion rendered whatever freedom dissenters enjoyed a mere privilege granted by the state. Madison proposed instead to establish religious liberty as a natural right of all persons for the first time in law. (pp. 108-109; emphasis mine)
After apparently discussing an amendment to Madison's proposal that would have restricted the right to religious liberty in cases in which " 'the preservation of equal liberty and the existence of the State are manifestly endangered,'" the Convention "eliminated even this reservation and proclaimed religious liberty unqualifiedly an absolute right" (p. 109; emphasis mine).
Thus, we can see that the intellectual ferment of the American Revolution produced a most revolutionary (pun intended) idea--that human beings have the right to follow their religious beliefs without limitation. While this principle is still not respected in every country in the world, it has long been accepted by Americans as one of our must fundamental freedoms.
Unfortunately, in recent years in the United States, it seems that this right to religious liberty has come under threat. Apparently, many in government and in society at large seem to believe that the supposed rights to engage in any type of sexual activity one wishes and to end an unwanted pregnancy must override religious freedom. Consequently, bakers who have religious objections to creating cakes for same-sex "weddings" and pharmacists who have moral qualms about selling abortifacient drugs must be brought to heel. I only wish those who are inclined to such a belief would consider carefully whether they really want to live in a society in which all the power of the State can be used to force people to violate their consciences so that others can feel affirmed in their life choices. Would that on this day we would renew our dedication to all the principles on which this nation was founded! Happy Independence Day!
Painting of James Madison by Gilbert Stuart, from commons.wikimedia.org