James Madison (1751-1836), the Father of our Constitution and our fourth
president went to Princeton at 18 with the idea of becoming an Anglican
minister, and came back to Virginia a freethinker. At age 22, he wrote,
"Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for
every noble enterprise, every expanded project." He then fought for
religious liberty for all, believer and disbeliever, which was no easy
task-then or now.

In his day, the notorious "Dade Code" was a part of the Virginia statutes,
and he could have been executed for his efforts. The code was written in
London by Anglican bishops who laid out a tidy list of prohibitions and
punishments which were meant to keep people from thinking and speaking
their honest thoughts. It meant to mold the citizens into conformity and
piety. The code provided the death penalty for anyone who "spoke
impiously of the Trinity or one of the divine persons, or against the known
articles of Christian faith." The same went for "blaspheming
God's holy name." If you were new in town you had to report to the
nearest Anglican priest who would put questions to you to see if you were
holy enough to stay. Arguing with a clergyman could get you jail time. If
you missed church without good reason on three occasions, the death penalty
could be imposed. It excluded all other religions from the colony. Every
person over 16 had to supply the ministers with an annual donation of ten
pounds of tobacco and one bushel of corn. When the price of tobacco waned,
an additional assessment was imposed: the "20th calfe, the 20th kidd
of goates, and the 20th pigge."

These laws were fought by Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists and
freethinkers who banded together in common cause. They sought to
disestablish the Church of England from the colony, which meant it would
have to be supported only by its supporters, not everyone, and allow all
other Christian religions equality. Patrick Henry joined with George
Washington, John Marshall, and other prominent leaders in a proposed
compromise - each could pay the annual duty to the Christian church of
one's choice, or a like amount to the school fund. This alarmed James
Madison and caused him to write his famous A Memorial and Remonstrance. He
looked at the history of the western world from Constantine to the
Reformation and summed up what had occurred - "During almost fifteen
centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What
has been its fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the
clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition,
bigotry, and persecution.
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