• The Last American Establishment: Massachusetts, 1780-1833

    Author(s):
    Justin Latterell, John Witte, Jr. (see profile)
    Date:
    2019
    Subject(s):
    Law, Religion, United States, History
    Item Type:
    Book chapter
    Tag(s):
    Religious Liberty, Establishment of Religion, Covenant, Constitution, John Adams, Law and Religion, Church and State, American history
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/fg2j-jf72
    Abstract:
    This chapter surveys the arguments for and against religious establishment and religious freedom that informed the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 and the subsequent amendments of 1821 and 1833. Most preachers, politicians, and citizens during this period agreed that religion was an essential source of morality, and that the Constitution should respect and encourage diverse religious beliefs and practices, at least among Protestants. But controversial issues including religious test oaths, church membership rules, and the use of taxes to support Congregationalist Churches created sharp political divisions. In 1833, the Eleventh Amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution moved away from religious establishment. It made church membership and funding entirely voluntary; granted all religious societies the right to hire their own clergy, to build their own churches, and to manage their own membership rolls; promised equal protection of the law to believers of all sects and non-believers, alike; and ensured that individual members of those sects could exit without incurring liability for contracts subsequently made by the other members of that sect.
    Metadata:
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    Published as:
    Book chapter     Show details
    Publisher:
    University of Missouri Press
    Pub. Date:
    2019
    Book Title:
    Religious Dissent and Disestablishment: Church-State Relations in the New American States, 1776-1833
    Author/Editor:
    Carl H. Esbeck and Jonathan Den Hartog
    Page Range:
    399 - 424
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    4 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
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