Petition of 10,000 Dissenters for Religious Freedom, 1776

Since the establishment of the Virginia colony in 1607, the Church of England (Anglican) was the only religious denomination recognized by the government. Anyone not worshipping with the recognized church was labeled a dissenter. Dissenters did not did not enjoy the same civil and religious rights as those who were members of the Church of England. Until 1780, marriages could only be performed by Anglican priests, and dissenters and their worship leaders often faced harassment, paid fines, and sometimes even found themselves imprisoned. And everyone, regardless of religious beliefs, had to pay taxes to support the Church of England.

As the independence movement took hold in the colonies, sentiment for religious toleration grew. Political leaders in Virgnia like George Mason and Thomas Jefferson began to share their belief that religious freedom was a natural right. The drive for religious freedom coincided with the rise of the Baptist and Presbyterian denominations in the Commonwealth.

In June 1776, members of the revolutionary convention that was then governing Virginia unanimously adopted George Mason's Declaration of Rights, which included the "free exercise of religion" among articles. Thomas Jefferson drew upon the ideas in this document when he wrote the Declaration of Independence weeks later.

Inspired by these sentiments, members of dissenting denominations sent petitions to Virginia's General Assembly when it sat for the first time in October 1776. Some petitions from Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists requested relief from religious taxation and an end to laws supporting the Anglican Church. Others sought a complete separation of church and state. Baptists organized a widespread petition drive calling for an end to all government interference in the practice of religion. Many copies of this petition circulated throughout Virginia and were signed primarily by Baptists, but also by members of other denominations. Signed by nearly 10,000 men, the 125 pages were sewn together and presented to the Geneal Assembly in October 1776.

Although Jefferson drafted a bill to separate church and state and end tax payments to the Anglican church in 1776, it was not until 1786 that the General Assembly passed the Statute of Religious Freedom. This statute officially declared that the former Church of England would receive no funding from taxes, and that all people were free to worship without coercion or civil consequences. Although it took a decade to enact, this Statute was grounded in the principles of the Revolution, namely in the protection of individual rights.   

Petitions to the General Assembly were the primary catalyst for legislation in the Commonwealth from 1776 until 1865. Virginians requested government assistance for public improvments such as turnpikes and incorporation of towns, as well as personal matters such as military claims and the manumission of slaves. 

Citation: Dissenters Petition, October 16, 1776, Miscellaneous, Legislative Petitions of the General Assembly, 1776-1865, Accession 36121, Library of Virginia (see the full petition online in the Library's Legislative Petitions Digital Collection).


Related Document Bank entries
The Virginia Declaration of Rights (George Mason's Draft) 
Act for Establishing Religious Freedom, January 16, 1786


Learn more about the Virginia Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom (1786) online at Encyclopedia Virginia. 

VS.6, USI.5, USI.6, VUS.5, GOVT.2

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Current Connection: Why might people in colonial Virginia fear the concept of religious freedom? How does this notion and that of religious freedom leading to expanded civil rights continue to impact society today? Explain.

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