{"id":28150,"date":"2026-06-24T10:52:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T17:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?p=28150"},"modified":"2026-06-24T11:12:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T18:12:53","slug":"the-us-founders-other-revolutionary-choice-separating-religion-and-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/the-us-founders-other-revolutionary-choice-separating-religion-and-government\/","title":{"rendered":"The US founders\u2019 other revolutionary choice: Separating religion and\u00a0government"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                          \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/scene-at-signing-of-constitution-top-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/scene-at-signing-of-constitution-top-1920x1080.jpg 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/scene-at-signing-of-constitution-top-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/scene-at-signing-of-constitution-top-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"A painting of men in formal suits, many of them wearing wigs, gathered in a high-ceilinged room with green curtains\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <figcaption>\u2018Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States,\u2019 painted by Howard Chandler Christy in 1940.           <span class=\"attribution\">(Image source: <a class=\"source\" href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Scene_at_the_Signing_of_the_Constitution_of_the_United_States.jpg\">U.S. Capitol via Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.)<\/span><\/figcaption>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=arts-and-culture\">Arts and Culture<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>The US founders\u2019 other revolutionary choice: Separating religion and\u00a0government<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  European colonial powers linked church and state. But the founders of the United States broke from that idea as surely as they broke from Britain.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Peter C. Mancall<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">June 24, 2026<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 1.5167124.60096154 2.9475732 1.68841575 4.0350274 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>Did the founders of the United States intend to create a Christian nation?<\/p>\n<p>Political leaders who addressed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/05\/17\/us\/trump-prayer-rally-national-mall.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a prayer rally on the National Mall<\/a> on May 17, 2026, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/05\/17\/us\/trump-prayer-rally-national-mall.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">seem to think so<\/a>: House Speaker Mike Johnson led the crowd in \u201crededicat(ing) the United States of America as one nation under God.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some, and perhaps many, scholars <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hnn.us\/article\/an-interview-with-jon-butler-was-america-founded-a\">would say no<\/a>: that while many founders were religious, as a group they concluded that the national government should not support any particular faith.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28158\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28158\" style=\"width: 331px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-28158\" src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/virgin-of-the-navigators-331x550.jpg\" alt=\"A painting shows a woman with a halo, draping her cloak over a small crowd of men praying on their knees\" width=\"331\" height=\"550\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/virgin-of-the-navigators-331x550.jpg 331w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/virgin-of-the-navigators-615x1024.jpg 615w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/virgin-of-the-navigators-768x1278.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/virgin-of-the-navigators-923x1536.jpg 923w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/virgin-of-the-navigators-1231x2048.jpg 1231w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/virgin-of-the-navigators-scaled.jpg 1538w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 331px) 100vw, 331px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28158\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u2018The Virgin of the Navigators,\u2019 by 16th-century Spanish painter Alejo Fern\u00e1ndez. (Image source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Fernandez-Virgin_of_the_Navigators_(proper_inversion).jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Reales Alcazares via Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/profile\/peter-mancall\/\">a scholar of Colonial North America<\/a>, I believe that history provides an answer. European colonizers in lands that became the United States did link church and state. But the architects of the new nation broke from that idea as surely as they broke from Britain.<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Doctrine of Discovery\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>The European desire to expand the boundaries of Christendom played a central role in the Colonial era, as I describe in <a href=\"https:\/\/global.oup.com\/academic\/product\/contested-continent-9780195372786?cc=us&amp;lang=en&amp;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">my 2026 book, \u201cContested Continent<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That drive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hachettebookgroup.com\/titles\/matthew-avery-sutton\/chosen-land\/9781541646339\/?lens=basic-books\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">mattered greatly to Christopher Columbus<\/a>, who sailed west in 1492. Upon landing in the Bahamas, he laid claim to already populated territories, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gilderlehrman.org\/sites\/default\/files\/inline-pdfs\/t-01427.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">writing that Christ would rejoice<\/a> \u201cas he foresees that so many souls of so many people heretofore lost are to be saved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gilderlehrman.org\/history-resources\/spotlight-primary-source\/doctrine-discovery-1493\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The \u201cDoctrine of Discovery<\/a>,\u201d proclaimed by the Vatican in 1493, granted European monarchs title over lands occupied by non-Christians and urged them to convert the people who lived there.<\/p>\n<h2>New church<\/h2>\n<p>Less than a generation later, the Protestant Reformation transformed Christianity, dividing Europe and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hachettebookgroup.com\/titles\/lyndal-roper\/summer-of-fire-and-blood\/9781541647039\/?lens=basic-books\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">spawning brutal violence<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In England, the schism reshaped the relationship between church and state. King Henry VIII <a href=\"https:\/\/stories.sal.org.uk\/henryviii\/the-break-with-rome\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">severed ties with the pope<\/a> in the 1530s. He ordered the <a href=\"https:\/\/yalebooks.yale.edu\/book\/9780300269956\/the-dissolution-of-the-monasteries\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dissolution of monasteries<\/a>, and his followers defaced church statues of Catholic saints.<\/p>\n<p>After Henry rejected Rome\u2019s authority, Parliament passed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.parliament.uk\/about\/living-heritage\/transformingsociety\/private-lives\/religion\/collections\/common-prayer\/act-of-supremacy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Supremacy Act of 1534<\/a>, which made the monarch the leader of an independent national church, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Church-of-England\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Church of England<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Queen Elizabeth I, Henry\u2019s daughter, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalarchives.gov.uk\/education\/resources\/the-english-reformation-c1527-1590\/elizabethan-settlement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">further reduced the political power of English Catholics in 1559<\/a>. Her desire to promote her Protestant faith, along with a yearning to expand England\u2019s political authority, helped fuel a vicious <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/history\/british\/tudors\/elizabeth_ireland_01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">campaign to take control of Ireland<\/a>, where the Reformation\u2019s teachings had not taken hold.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28155\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28155\" style=\"width: 1508px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28155\" src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/image-of-irelande.avif\" alt=\"A black and white illustration of soldiers carrying weapons and severed heads, and leading a few captives\" width=\"1508\" height=\"996\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/image-of-irelande.avif 1508w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/image-of-irelande-500x330.avif 500w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/image-of-irelande-1024x676.avif 1024w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/image-of-irelande-768x507.avif 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1508px) 100vw, 1508px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28155\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A plate from \u2018The Image of Irelande\u2019 by John Derrick, published in 1581, shows English soldiers during the Tudor conquest of Ireland. (Images source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:The_Image_of_Irelande_-_plate05.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Edinburgh University Library via Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Protestant migrants<\/h2>\n<p>The desire to promote Protestantism also figured in English plans for the colonization of North America.<\/p>\n<p>In the 1580s, an expedition <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/fora\/learn\/historyculture\/1584-the-first-english-voyage.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sent by Sir Walter Raleigh<\/a> arrived on the Outer Banks of what is now North Carolina. They were eager to learn about the region\u2019s natural resources and its peoples. English colonial planners also hoped to convert Carolina Algonquians, and to keep Catholics away. A small group of Jesuit priests had already tried to establish a mission on a tributary of Chesapeake Bay in 1571, but they were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hachettebookgroup.com\/titles\/james-horn\/a-brave-and-cunning-prince\/9781541600034\/?lens=basic-books\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">killed by Indigenous people<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas Harriot, who <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/briefetruereport00harr\/page\/2\/mode\/2up\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">chronicled the English efforts<\/a> when he arrived in 1585, believed that Carolina Algonquians would convert to Protestantism. In fact, he wrote, Native people were so eager to accept the faith that they grabbed a Bible \u201cto embrace it, to kisse it, to hold it to their bre(a)sts\u201d in order to absorb the lessons it contained.<\/p>\n<p>In 1607, the Virginia Company of London established a settlement at Jamestown, promising, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/avalon.law.yale.edu\/17th_century\/va02.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the colony\u2019s 1609 charter<\/a>, that colonization would lead to \u201cthe conversion and reduccion of the people in those partes unto the true worshipp of God and Christian religion.\u201d To advance their goal, they tried to bar anyone holding \u201cthe superstitions of the Churche of Rome.\u201d Colonists had to swear the oath of supremacy to the English monarch, which meant accepting the Church of England.<\/p>\n<p>Within a generation, other Protestants arrived in English America, including critics of the Church of England who are now often called \u201cPilgrims.\u201d Puritans, who migrated soon after, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.com\/articles\/pilgrims-puritans-differences\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">held similar beliefs<\/a>. Persecuted in England for their dissenting views, they arrived eager to demonstrate to the world that they knew the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hup.harvard.edu\/books\/9780674063853\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">best ways to advance a civilization<\/a>, based on their interpretation of Scripture.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-center zoomable\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/743367\/original\/file-20260622-71-1n3llp.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/743367\/original\/file-20260622-71-1n3llp.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/743367\/original\/file-20260622-71-1n3llp.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=325&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/743367\/original\/file-20260622-71-1n3llp.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=325&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/743367\/original\/file-20260622-71-1n3llp.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=325&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/743367\/original\/file-20260622-71-1n3llp.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=408&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/743367\/original\/file-20260622-71-1n3llp.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=408&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/743367\/original\/file-20260622-71-1n3llp.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=408&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\" alt=\"Around a dozen people walk through a clearing in the woods, with snow on the ground.\" \/><\/a><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">\u2018Pilgrims Going To Church,\u2019 painted by George Henry Boughton in 1867. <\/span><span class=\"attribution\">(Image source: <a class=\"source\" href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:George-Henry-Boughton-Pilgrims-Going-To-Church.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Historical via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/span>.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Among these migrants was John Winthrop, a leader of the Massachusetts Bay colony. In 1630, he wrote what became <a href=\"https:\/\/global.oup.com\/academic\/product\/john-winthrop-9780195179811?cc=us&amp;lang=en&amp;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the most famous sermon<\/a> in early America \u2014 although he was not a minister and likely never delivered it to a congregation.<\/p>\n<p>Winthrop advocated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gilderlehrman.org\/sites\/default\/files\/inline-pdfs\/A%20Model%20of%20Christian%20Charity_Full%20Text.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the blending of church and state<\/a>. As he put it, drawing on the Bible\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew%205&amp;version=KJV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Book of Matthew<\/a>, \u201cWe shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us.\u201d Colonists\u2019 failure, he suggested, would be a victory for the enemies of God.<\/p>\n<h2>Competition for American souls<\/h2>\n<p>English advocates of colonization were aware that <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/paintingmapofsix0000mill\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Catholics had been erecting churches in modern-day Mexico and Peru<\/a>. Protestants feared that Rome\u2019s influence might spread across the East Coast, moving southward from French Canada and northward from Spanish Florida. While English authorities <a href=\"https:\/\/uncpress.org\/9781469686226\/a-common-grave\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">allowed limited migration of Catholics<\/a>, especially to Maryland, their Colonies remained Protestant strongholds.<\/p>\n<p>No single official church establishment stretched across the 13 Colonies that would eventually join in the American Revolution. But church and state were closely related in each.<\/p>\n<p>Towns across New England taxed residents <a href=\"https:\/\/nationalhumanitiescenter.org\/tserve\/eighteen\/ekeyinfo\/chustate.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">to support local Congregational churches<\/a>, which evolved out of Puritan traditions. Colonial governments established the Church of England <a href=\"https:\/\/encyclopediavirginia.org\/entries\/church-of-england-in-virginia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in Virginia in 1619<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/digitalcommons.unl.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=1017&amp;context=etas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in New York<\/a> in 1693.<\/p>\n<p>Pennsylvania\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/avalon.law.yale.edu\/17th_century\/pa04.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">1682 frame of government<\/a> promised that law-abiding people would not be persecuted for their religious views or forced to worship. But those who held public office needed to \u201cpossess faith in Jesus Christ.\u201d Even Rhode Island, famous for its tradition of tolerance, specified in <a href=\"https:\/\/avalon.law.yale.edu\/17th_century\/ri04.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">its 1663 charter<\/a> that residents should edify \u201cthemselves, and one another, in the holie Christian faith.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>A revolutionary achievement<\/h2>\n<p>By the mid-1770s, many Colonial Americans decided that the time had come to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hup.harvard.edu\/books\/9780674975651\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">separate from Great Britain<\/a>. Many also wanted to separate church and state.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28157\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28157\" style=\"width: 413px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-28157\" src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/thomas-jefferson-headstone-413x550.avif\" alt=\"A tall, gray monument stands on a small base amid a leafy cemetery\" width=\"413\" height=\"550\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/thomas-jefferson-headstone-413x550.avif 413w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/thomas-jefferson-headstone-768x1024.avif 768w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/thomas-jefferson-headstone-1152x1536.avif 1152w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/thomas-jefferson-headstone-1280x1707.avif 1280w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/thomas-jefferson-headstone.avif 1508w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 413px) 100vw, 413px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28157\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Virginia\u2019s Statute for Religious Freedom was one of the three accomplishments Thomas Jefferson wanted inscribed on his tombstone. (Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Thomas_Jefferson%27s_Grave_Site.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Christopher Hollis\/Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In 1777, just a year after he drafted the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote <a href=\"https:\/\/encyclopediavirginia.org\/primary-documents\/an-act-for-establishing-religious-freedom-1786\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Virginia\u2019s Statute for Religious Freedom<\/a>. As he put it, one\u2019s ability to serve the public should \u201chave no dependance on our religious opinions, any more than on our opinions in physics or geometry.\u201d When the statute became law in Virginia in 1786, it protected freedom of worship and ended <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lva.virginia.gov\/collections\/educator-resources\/online-classroom\/stc\/entries\/act-for-establishing-religious-freedom-january-16-1786\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">taxes to support the Church of England<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.archives.gov\/founding-docs\/constitution-transcript\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article 6 of the United States Constitution<\/a>, written in Philadelphia in 1787, forbade any <a href=\"https:\/\/constitutioncenter.org\/the-constitution\/articles\/article-vi\/clauses\/32\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">religious oaths for those who wanted to hold office<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/constitution.congress.gov\/constitution\/amendment-1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The First Amendment<\/a>, which became part of the Constitution in late 1791, held that Congress \u201cshall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The leaders of the American Revolution <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gilderlehrman.org\/history-resources\/essays\/religious-diversity-signers-declaration-independence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">did not agree on all matters of faith<\/a>. But had they wanted public support of religious institutions, they had plenty of models at hand \u2014 including the Church of England.<\/p>\n<p>They decided, instead, that a durable republic could best survive if politics and religion inhabited different spheres. This recognition contradicted almost two centuries of Colonial practice, making it among the most radical achievements of the founding era.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/284509\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/peter-c-mancall-313858\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Peter C. Mancall<\/a>, Distinguished Professor, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of the Humanities, Linda and Harlan Martens Director of the Early Modern Studies Institute, and professor of history, anthropology, and economics, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/usc-dornsife-college-of-letters-arts-and-sciences-2669\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This article is republished from <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/the-us-founders-other-revolutionary-choice-separating-religion-and-government-284509\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n\n    \n  <h2>\n          Related Articles\n      <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/in-memoriam-andrew-lakoff-influential-anthropologist-of-risk-science-and-society\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >In Memoriam: Andrew Lakoff, influential anthropologist of risk, science and society<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/senator-gary-peters-to-lead-usc-dornsife-center-for-the-political-future\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >U.S. Sen. Gary Peters to lead USC Dornsife\u2019s Center for the Political Future, named Warschaw Chair<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/annie-dillard-brought-poetry-into-prose\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Annie Dillard brought poetry into prose<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>European colonial powers linked church and state. But the founders of the United States broke from that idea as surely as they broke from Britain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":28153,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,50],"tags":[87,71,83],"class_list":["post-28150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-culture","category-politics","tag-expert-viewpoint","tag-history","tag-the-conversation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The US founders\u2019 other revolutionary choice: Separating religion and\u00a0government<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"European colonial powers linked church and state, but America\u2019s founding father broke from that idea as surely as they broke from Britain\" 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