Strangely enough, those who fled to America to escape religious persecution brought with them the Old World ideas of religious intolerance. Everywhere in New England except in Rhode Island dissent from .the 'established order' of worship was looked upon as sedition against the State and sin against God. Jesuits, Baptists, and Roinish priests were punished by imprison ment or banishment. while several Quakers were publicly hanged on Boston Common. Praetieally the same policy was followed in the colonies planted in the South. The Puritan insisted upon conformity because he wished to make the State a religious unit: the Cavalier required it because the Church was a part of the civil polity. In the Colony of Rhode Island State and Church were absolntely divorced from the first, and the individual left entirely to the teachings of his own conscienee. In the Catholic Colony of Mary land religious toleration existed for a while, ex cept as to Jews, Mohammedans. and other non Christ inns: but eventually the Church of England was established by law. In New Work and New .Jersey strenuous efforts were made by the Eng lish authorities to impose the Church of England in place of the Dutch Reformed Church, but without success. In Georgia liberty of worship existed until near the Revolution, when the Church of England was established as the State relioion. In Pennsylvania and Delaware, as in Rhode Island, no State Church ever existed.
The framers of the Federal Constitution in serted a provision in that instrument declaring that no religious test should ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. Doubtless they had in mind the celebrated Test and Corporation acts of the Stuarts, enforced in all the colonies except Rhode Island, and in some of them down to the Revolu tion. Even in tolerant Pennsylvania all public officers bad to declare and subscribe to their dis belief in 'transubstantiation, the adoration of the Virgin Mary, and the sacrament of the Romish mass as superstitious and idolatrous. There was considerable opposition to the adoption of the Federal Constitution on account of its lack of a provision excluding non-Christian sects from the right to hold office, and also of a pro vision prohibiting Congress from creating a State religion: and the first amendment to the Con stitution was one prohibiting Congress from making any laws respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The States. however, were left free to establish a Church and restrict religious worship they saw fit. As a matter of fact, all of the States which maintained established churches during their colonial existence have disestablished them and inserted in their constitutions provisions granting religious liberty. A complete divorce of Church and State was not accomplished in some of the commonwealths until after the adop tion of the Federal Constitution. It came finally
in Virginia through a decision of the Court of Appeals in 1840: in Delaware and Connecticut through the adoption of new constitutions in ISIS and 1831; in Massachusetts through an act of the Legislature in 1833: in Pennsylvania and South Carolina through the adoption of new constitutions in 1790: in Vermont and New Hampshire through acts of the Legislature passed in 1807 and At the present time twenty six of the State• constitutions declare it to be the privilege of "every man to worship God ac cording to the dictates of his own conscience." Eleven declare that the "free enjoyment of re ligious sentiment and forms of worship shall ever be held sacred." Five make it the duty of the Legislature to pass laws for the protection of religious freedom. Nineteen declare that "no human authority ought to control or interfere with the rights of conscience." while nine ordain that "no person may he molested in person or estate on account of religion." Most of the State constitutions forbid compulsory attendance or support of any Church : many of them forbid the appropriation of money for the support of sectarian institutions, although New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Missouri allow the parishes to provide for the support of religious teachers: while nearly all in one form or another forbid religious tests for office. Curiously enough, how ever, eight States. some of which forbid religious tests, disqualify from public office all who deny the existence of a Supreme Being or a future state of rewards and punishments.
While almost complete liberty of worship now exists in the United States, it is recognized that religious liberty, like the liberty of the press and speech, may be abused to the injury of ethers and the detriment of the public morals. Tim, the constitutions of many of the states provide tor a guarantee against abuse by declar ing that liberty of conscience shall not be con strued to excuse acts of licentiousness or justify practice, inconsistent with the peace and safety of the State, and the Supreme Court has held that liberty of worship as understood in the Lnited States extends only to relations between the individual and an extra-mundane being, and not to relations among individuals themselves. On this ground the court held that a law of Congress prohibiting the practice of polygamy was not an infringement of religion. worship.
The influence of the American idea of religions liberty has been very powerful ov( r Europe and elsewhere. In France different religious denomi nations are treated equally, all receiving State aid. In Germany liberty of worship is allowed subject to certain restrictions upon the right of assembly. In England the Anglican Church is still the established faith. but religious tests for office, except in the case of the Crown, have bc-en abolished.