Excerpt: This article explores how religion influenced the founding constitutions of the thirteen original U.S. states, and how faith was embedded in early state law. It highlights guarantees of religious freedom, religious tests for public office, and establishment provisions, illustrating the diverse ways each state balanced liberty and faith.

Introduction

In the era of the American Revolution, each of the original thirteen states adopted new constitutions or governing charters that addressed religion in various ways. These founding documents commonly affirmed some degree of religious freedom, often with explicit protections for worship and conscience. At the same time, many imposed religious tests for public office or established Christianity (in particular Protestantism) in law. Below we examine each state’s original constitution (or equivalent charter) for how it included or was influenced by religion, highlighting key clauses on religious freedom, tests for office, and religious establishments. Patterns emerge across states – for example, New England states maintained Congregationalist establishments, several middle and southern states required officeholders to be Christian (often specifically Protestant), and all states prohibited legally privileging one Christian denomination over another. Yet significant differences existed in the scope of tolerance and the strictness of religious tests.

State-by-State Overview

Delaware (1776)

• Religious Freedom: Guaranteed no establishment of a specific sect.
• Test for Office: Required officeholders to affirm belief in the Trinity and divine inspiration of the Bible.
• Clergy: Ministers were barred from civil office.

Delaware’s 1776 constitution blended a commitment to religious liberty among Christian denominations with a stringent test for office. It forbade establishment of any single sect: “There shall be no establishment of any one religious sect in this State in preference to another,” ensuring no denomination would be legally privileged over others. At the same time, it imposed a Trinitarian Christian oath for officeholders. Every legislator or official, before taking office, had to declare faith in the Christian Trinity and Scripture by affirming: “I do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, and in the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed for evermore; and I do acknowledge the holy scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration”. This effectively limited public office to Christians – indeed, Delaware assumed non-Christians would not hold office. Notably, clergy were barred from civil office: no minister “of any denomination” could serve in the legislature or hold civil authority while in pastoral function. Delaware’s constitution thus protected equal rights for Christian sects (no sect preference by law) but was not neutral among all religions, since only Christians (in practice including Catholics and Protestants, but excluding Jews and others) could serve in government.

Pennsylvania (1776)

• Religious Freedom: Broad protections; no one compelled to attend or support religious services.
• Test for Office: Belief in God and the Old and New Testaments required.
• Notable: Only monotheists acknowledging Scripture could serve.

Pennsylvania’s revolutionary constitution was known for its liberal democratic provisions, and it strongly affirmed freedom of worship. The Pennsylvania Declaration of Rights proclaimed that “all men have a natural and unalienable right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences and understanding,” and that no one can be compelled to attend or support any religious worship against his will. It further guaranteed that no one acknowledging a God could be deprived of civil rights due to their religion – a protection aimed at preventing religious tests beyond belief in God. In fact, the frame of government explicitly forbade any further religious test: “no further or other religious test shall ever hereafter be required of any civil officer or magistrate” beyond the one it instituted. That one required test was a general Christian acknowledgment: Pennsylvania’s officials had to declare “I do believe in one God, the creator and governor of the universe, the rewarder of the good and the punisher of the wicked. And I do acknowledge the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by Divine inspiration.”. This oath, included in the constitution, admitted all monotheistic Christians (including Catholics) to office but pointedly excluded anyone who could not affirm the divine inspiration of the New Testament – notably Jews and non-Christians. Pennsylvania’s constitution thus pioneered broad religious liberty (no establishment or compulsory support of any church), but still assumed officeholders would be God-fearing Christians. Indeed, under the original 1776 framework, only believers in God and the Bible could serve in the legislature. (Pennsylvania later removed the New Testament clause in 1790, allowing Jews to hold office, though it still required belief in God and an afterlife.) Overall, Pennsylvania in 1776 combined strong free exercise guarantees with a mild religious test that was inclusive of all Christian denominations but exclusive of non-believers.

New Jersey (1776)

• Religious Freedom: Ensured no compelled worship or financial support.
• Test for Office: Limited to Protestants.
• Establishment: No sect established by law, but favored Protestants.

New Jersey’s 1776 constitution declared a commitment to liberty of conscience while simultaneously restricting public office to Protestants. It contained a sweeping guarantee that “no person shall ever...be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshipping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience; nor...be compelled to attend any place of worship, contrary to his own faith and judgment”. Likewise, no one could be forced to pay tithes or taxes for the support of a religion other than his own. This amounted to a ban on any established church supported by general taxation. The very next article, however, instituted a Protestant-only provision for civil rights and offices. It stated “there shall be no establishment of any one religious sect” in preference to another, “and that no Protestant inhabitant of this Colony shall be denied the enjoyment of any civil right, merely on account of his religious principles.” Furthermore, “all persons, professing a belief in the faith of any Protestant sect, who shall demean themselves peaceably under the government…shall be capable of being elected into any office of profit or trust, or being a member of either branch of the Legislature”. In effect, New Jersey extended religious liberty and civil rights only to Protestants. Protestants of any denomination could worship freely and hold office, but Catholics and others fell outside these protections – a significant limitation. Indeed, until 1844 New Jersey law barred Catholics from public office by virtue of this Protestant-only clause. In sum, New Jersey’s original constitution provided freedom of worship and no compelled support for religion, but it was explicitly a “Protestant constitution” in terms of political participation.

Georgia (1777)

• Religious Freedom: Guaranteed for all; no support required for churches.
• Test for Office: Only Protestants could serve in the legislature.
• Clergy: Ministers were excluded from legislative roles.

The 1777 Constitution of Georgia disestablished the Anglican Church (which had been the official church in colonial Georgia) and moved toward broad toleration, albeit with Protestant preferences. It guaranteed free exercise of religion for “all persons”, stating plainly: “All persons whatever shall have the free exercise of their religion; provided it be not repugnant to the peace and safety of the State”. It also forbade compelling anyone to support a religious ministry not of his own faith: no one could be forced to “support any teacher or teachers except those of their own profession”. These clauses ensured no Georgian was taxed to fund a church he didn’t belong to, effectively ending any official church tax and preventing a single-sect establishment. At the same time, Georgia imposed a religious test for legislators and excluded clergy from lawmaking. The constitution required that members of the state assembly “shall be of the Protestant religion”. This meant only Protestants could serve in the legislature, a restriction that, while lifting the colonial ban on Catholic worship, still barred Catholics (and all non-Protestants) from political office. Additionally, no clergyman of any denomination was allowed a seat in the legislature – a common measure to maintain separation between church and state roles. In 1777 Georgia thus had free exercise for all (including previously excluded Catholics) and no compulsory church taxes, but it ensured a Protestant monopoly on legislative office. (Georgia would remove the Protestant officeholding requirement in its 1789 constitution and affirm no one would be denied civil rights on account of religion. By 1798, Georgia explicitly prohibited establishing any one religious society in preference to another, fully embracing religious equality in law.)

Connecticut (Charter of 1662)

• Religious Freedom: No explicit protections; Congregationalist establishment continued.
• Test for Office: Not defined, but church and state closely linked.
• Establishment: State-supported Congregational Church until 1818.

Connecticut did not draft a new state constitution in 1776; instead it continued to operate under its colonial Charter of 1662, which effectively served as its governing document until 1818. That charter and Connecticut’s laws established a de facto Congregationalist religious establishment. Connecticut was founded as a Puritan (Congregational) “Bible commonwealth,” and the charter’s language reveals this religious mission. It expressed the hope that Connecticut’s people “may be so religiously, peaceably and civilly governed” that their example would help “win and invite the Natives of the Country to the Knowledge and obedience of the only true God and the Saviour of Mankind, and the Christian Faith, which…is the only and principal end of this Plantation.”. In practice, Connecticut maintained the established Congregational Church into the revolutionary era – citizens were generally required to pay local taxes to support Congregational ministers. Dissenting Protestant groups (like Anglicans or Baptists) were tolerated by the eighteenth century, but they had to formally register to have their taxes redirected to their own churches. No broad guarantee of religious freedom was written into the 1662 charter. However, when Connecticut’s legislature reasserted its charter as the state constitution in 1776, it did pen a new preamble acknowledging “the Providence of God” in making the people free and thanking their ancestors for a “free and excellent Constitution of Government” that preserved “their civil and religious rights and liberties.”. This 1776 statement noted that the free enjoyment of rights which “Christianity and humanity” require has always been essential to the tranquility of church and commonwealth. In short, revolutionary Connecticut continued an established church model – the Congregationalist order – under a system that upheld religious practice as vital to society but did not provide equal public rights to non-Protestants. (Full religious freedom and disestablishment in Connecticut came with the 1818 constitution, which finally declared “no preference shall be given by law to any Christian sect”* and that all persons “have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences”.)

Massachusetts (1780)

• Religious Freedom: All Christian denominations protected.
• Establishment: Towns required to support Protestant ministers; taxes allowed.
• Test for Office: Officeholders had to affirm belief in the Christian religion.

The Massachusetts Constitution of 1780, drafted chiefly by John Adams, featured a unique blend of guaranteed free exercise, a mild Protestant establishment, and a Christian religious test for office. On one hand, its Declaration of Rights declared that all Christian denominations would be equally protected. It famously stated that “every denomination of Christians, demeaning themselves peaceably, and as good subjects of the commonwealth, shall be equally under the protection of the law: and no subordination of any one sect or denomination to another shall ever be established by law.”. This clause promised that no one Christian sect (e.g. Congregational or Anglican) would be made superior – a rejection of a single established church. However, Massachusetts did effectively establish religion in general (specifically Protestant Christianity) through a tax-supported system. Article III of its Declaration of Rights asserted that because public worship and religious instruction are for the public good, the legislature was empowered to “authorize and require” local towns “to make suitable provision, at their own expense, for the institution of the public worship of God, and for the support and maintenance of public Protestant teachers of piety, religion and morality.”. In short, towns were required to fund Protestant ministers, though each town’s people could choose their own minister and each taxpayer had the right to direct his tax to his own denomination’s church. This represented a multiple establishment of Protestantism: every town had to support religious teaching, but individuals could not be taxed for a church they didn’t attend. Massachusetts also required government officials to be Christians. The 1780 constitution imposed a religious test oath for high office: all governor, lieutenant governor, senators, etc., upon election, had to declare “I, A.B., do declare, that I believe the Christian religion, and have a firm persuasion of its truth.”. This oath meant officeholders must be professing Christians, though it did not specify a denomination (Catholics were theoretically allowed, but non-Christians were excluded). In sum, Massachusetts’ original constitution upheld broad free exercise for Christians and pluralism among Christian sects, but also institutionalized Protestant religious practice (through required support for ministers) and limited public offices to Christians. (The establishment elements – the parish taxes and required Protestant teachers – remained in force until they were abolished by constitutional amendment in 1833, marking the formal end of Massachusetts’ state church system. The religious test for office in Massachusetts, which had specified belief in the Christian religion, was eliminated in 1821.)

Maryland (1776)

• Religious Freedom: Guaranteed only for Christians.
• Test for Office: Required belief in the Christian religion.
• Establishment: Ended Anglican establishment; allowed equal support for Christian sects.

Maryland’s first state constitution (and its accompanying Declaration of Rights of 1776) fostered religious freedom for Christians only, while disestablishing the Church of England in favor of no official sect. The Maryland Declaration of Rights proclaimed “that as it is the duty of every man to worship God in such manner as he thinks most acceptable to Him; all persons, professing the Christian religion, are equally entitled to protection in their religious liberty.”. In other words, free exercise of religion was guaranteed – but only to Christians. No one was to be molested or penalized on account of his religion, “unless, under colour of religion, any man disturb the peace, or infringe the laws of morality”, and no one was compelled to attend or finance any church against his consent. At the same time, Maryland ended its colonial Anglican establishment: the new Declaration of Rights forbade coerced support for any specific church and even allowed that the legislature “may, in their discretion, lay a general and equal tax, for the support of the Christian religion,” with each taxpayer free to direct his contribution to the church of his choice or to charity. (In practice, Maryland did not end up levying a general religious tax – this provision was a compromise allowing the possibility of non-preferential support for Christianity.) Importantly, Maryland imposed a Christian belief test for public office. The 1776 constitution declared “no other test or qualification ought to be required on admission to any office…than…a declaration of a belief in the Christian religion.”. In effect, only Christians could hold office in Maryland; Jews and others were excluded from public positions until that requirement was lifted decades later (Jewish emancipation in Maryland came in 1826). Maryland’s new constitution also officially ended special privileges of the Anglican Church – it provided that Anglican churches’ property “shall remain to the Church of England forever,” but no future church taxes would be imposed by county courts. In sum, Maryland in 1776 became a state with no established church and equal protection for all Christian denominations, but it did not extend full religious liberty beyond Christianity. Only those “professing the Christian religion” could exercise rights of conscience fully and serve in government.

South Carolina (1778)

• Religious Freedom: Allowed for all monotheists; favored Protestants.
• Establishment: Protestant Christianity was officially established.
• Test for Office: Affirmation of Christian doctrine required.
• Clergy: Ministers barred from legislative office.

South Carolina’s 1778 constitution was among the most explicitly religious – it established Protestant Christianity as the state religion while extending equal status to all Protestant churches. It declared unambiguously: “The Christian Protestant religion shall be deemed, and is hereby constituted and declared to be, the established religion of this State.”[43]. Unlike some states that simply disestablished their old church, South Carolina replaced its earlier Anglican establishment with a broader Protestant establishment. All denominations of Protestants were to enjoy equal privileges under the law, with no favoritism for any one sect. “All denominations of Christian Protestants in this State, demeaning themselves peaceably and faithfully, shall enjoy equal religious and civil privileges,” the constitution stated. To implement this, the constitution provided a mechanism for any Protestant congregation of sufficient size to become an “established church” in the eyes of the state (and thus eligible for incorporation and certain public support) by affirming a common set of basic Christian doctrines. Those required doctrines included belief in one God, a future state of rewards and punishments (afterlife), the truth of the Christian religion, and the divine inspiration of the Old and New Testaments. In other words, any Protestant church agreeing to five fundamental articles (belief in God, afterlife, truth of Christianity, divine inspiration of Scripture, etc.) could be recognized and incorporated as part of the “established religion” of South Carolina. This unique arrangement effectively established a plural Protestant church: multiple Protestant denominations were established on equal terms. At the same time, the constitution promised toleration to others: “all persons and religious societies who acknowledge that there is one God, and a future state of rewards and punishments…shall be freely tolerated.”. This meant even non-Protestants (for example, Catholics or possibly Jews) who believed in God and an afterlife were allowed to worship freely, though they were not part of the favored “established” religion. The 1778 constitution also continued the practice of barring ministers from public office: “no minister of the gospel or public preacher of any religious persuasion…shall be eligible” to the governorship, legislature, or council while serving in the ministry. Additionally, it protected citizens from coercion in religion: “No person shall, by law, be obliged to pay towards the maintenance of a religious worship that he does not freely join in or has not voluntarily engaged to support.”. South Carolina thus did not force anyone to fund a church he didn’t belong to (existing church property was secured for those respective denominations). In summary, South Carolina’s original constitution created the most comprehensive religious establishment of any new state – a statewide Protestant establishment – even as it granted equal civil rights to all Protestants and allowed freedom of worship to all monotheists. (This system was altered in 1790 when South Carolina adopted a new constitution removing the established church and providing full religious liberty “without distinction or preference” to all, including Catholics.)

North Carolina (1776)

• Religious Freedom: Broad worship rights protected.
• Test for Office: Excluded non-Protestants and non-Christians.
• Clergy: Barred from civil office.
• Establishment: Prohibited.

North Carolina’s 1776 constitution combined a firm commitment to free exercise and non-establishment with a restrictive Protestant test for public office. The accompanying Declaration of Rights made a strong statement for religious freedom, declaring “that all men have a natural and unalienable right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences.” This set the principle of liberty of conscience. The constitution proper then ensured there would be no established church and no religious compulsion: “there shall be no establishment of any one religious church or denomination in this State, in preference to any other; neither shall any person...be compelled to attend any place of worship, contrary to his own faith or judgment, nor be obliged to pay...for the building of any house of worship, or for the maintenance of any minister,” against his consent. In short, North Carolina outlawed the establishment of any religion by the state and protected people from being forced to support or participate in any religion. All persons were free to exercise their mode of worship (with a proviso that this did not excuse seditious preaching). However, North Carolina also adopted one of the strictest religious tests for office among the new states. Article XXXII of its constitution mandated that “no person, who shall deny the being of God or the truth of the Protestant religion, or the divine authority of either the Old or New Testaments…shall be capable of holding any office or place of trust or profit in the civil department within this State.”. This sweeping test effectively barred four categories of people from office: atheists (denial of God’s being), non-Protestant Christians (e.g. Catholics, who might not affirm “the truth of the Protestant religion”), non-Christians in general (anyone denying the divine authority of the Old or New Testament, which would exclude Jews who reject the New Testament, for example), and even anyone whose religious principles were deemed incompatible with state security. In practical terms, only Protestants could hold public office in North Carolina, a provision enforced occasionally (famously, a Jewish legislator’s seat was challenged in 1809 under this rule, though he was allowed to remain). Additionally, North Carolina, like many states, forbade clergymen from serving in the legislature or Council of State during their ministry. Thus, North Carolina’s founding charter was a study in contrasts: it enshrined freedom of religion and prohibited any state church, treating all denominations equally under law in that respect, yet it simultaneously excluded all but Protestant believers from the privileges of public office. (This “Protestant only” officeholding clause remained until it was softened in 1835 and ultimately removed; North Carolina did not eliminate religious tests entirely until much later, and even today its constitution forbids atheists from office, though this is unenforceable under the U.S. Constitution.)

New Hampshire (1784)

• Religious Freedom: Strong protections for Christians.
• Establishment: Local governments could require funding for Protestant worship.
• Test for Office: Only Protestants eligible for office.

New Hampshire’s first lasting constitution (adopted 1784, replacing a temporary 1776 framework) closely followed the Massachusetts model: it combined free exercise for Christians, a taxpayer-supported Protestant religious system, and a Protestant test for office. The 1784 New Hampshire Bill of Rights affirmed in Article I, Section 5 that “every individual has a natural and unalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience and reason,” and that no one could be harmed or restrained for his religious practices, as long as he did not disturb the public peace. Like Massachusetts, New Hampshire saw public worship as vital to society’s welfare. Its Bill of Rights Section 6 declared that “as morality and piety, rightly grounded on evangelical principles, will give the best security to government… and as the knowledge of these is most likely to be propagated by the institution of the public worship of the Deity and of public instruction in morality and religion; therefore, the people have a right to empower the legislature” to require local communities to make provision for “public Protestant teachers of piety, religion and morality.”. In short, towns could be required to fund Protestant ministers and churches. However, the constitution included important safeguards: each town or religious society retained “the exclusive right of electing their own public teachers, and of contracting with them for their support,” and crucially no one could be forced to fund a religious teacher of another denomination. It stated “no person of any one particular religious sect or denomination shall ever be compelled to pay towards the support of the teacher or teachers of another persuasion.”. This protected dissenters from supporting a rival church. Furthermore, the Bill of Rights promised that all Christian denominations should be equally protected: “every denomination of Christians demeaning themselves quietly, and as good subjects of the state, shall be equally under the protection of the law; and no subordination of any one sect to another shall ever be established by law.”. This was virtually identical to Massachusetts’ language, ensuring religious equality among Protestant sects. Despite this broad toleration for worship, the 1784 New Hampshire constitution imposed a strict religious test for office akin to North Carolina’s. It required that members of the State Legislature (both the House and Senate) must be of the Protestant religion, as did the Governor. (This provision is found in Part II of the NH Constitution – for example, the original Article 14 required the governor to be “of the Protestant religion,” and Article 29 did the same for senators.) As a result, Catholics and non-Protestants could not hold elected office in New Hampshire until that requirement was removed in 1877. In summary, New Hampshire’s founding law created a system of government-supported Protestant religious instruction (without favoring a single Protestant denomination over others), guaranteed free exercise to all Christians, yet limited public office to Protestants* for many years after independence.

New York (1777)

• Religious Freedom: Guaranteed to “all mankind.”
• Test for Office: None.
• Clergy: Barred from holding civil or military office.
• Establishment: Prohibited.

New York’s first constitution stood out for its expansive language of religious liberty and its lack of any religious test for civil office (apart from a ban on clergy in government). The New York Constitution of 1777 declared a sweeping guarantee of religious free exercise for all people. In a dedicated article, it proclaimed “the free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever hereafter be allowed within this State to all mankind.”. This strong phrasing – “to all mankind” – signaled that New York intended full toleration for people of any or no faith, so long as their practices did not threaten peace and safety. (A proviso added that liberty of conscience could not be used as an excuse for “licentiousness” or practices inconsistent with public peace.) Importantly, New York thus barred the state from showing preference to any religious denomination – essentially an anti-establishment clause ensuring no official church would be designated. There was no religious requirement for voting or holding office in the New York Constitution. In fact, New York was one of the few states with no religious test for office written into its 1777 constitution, meaning Catholics and Jews (who were numerous in New York City) could legally hold public office from the start. However, the constitution did take a firm stance on the separation of church and state leadership by excluding clergy from public office. It provided that “no minister of the gospel, or priest of any denomination whatsoever, shall at any time hereafter…be eligible to or capable of holding any civil or military office or place within this State.”. The rationale given was that clergymen are dedicated to God’s service and should not be diverted from their spiritual duties. Aside from this ban on clergy in government, New York’s constitution was remarkable for embracing religious equality. It explicitly aimed to “guard against…spiritual oppression and intolerance” of the sort inflicted by religious bigotry in the past. In practical effect, after 1777 New York disestablished the Anglican Church (which had been official in colonial New York) and allowed all faiths to operate freely. There remained on the books some old laws – for instance, a requirement inherited from colonial times that officeholders renounce allegiance to any foreign power “in all matters, ecclesiastical as well as civil,” which was chiefly aimed at neutralizing Catholic allegiance to the Pope. But the constitution itself did not require any oath of Christian belief. Thus, New York led in guaranteeing broad religious freedom (“without discrimination or preference”) and in allowing people of any faith to serve in government (something not universally seen in 1777).

Rhode Island (Charter of 1663)

• Religious Freedom: Unparalleled; no test or establishment.
• Test for Office: None.
• Establishment: None.
• Legacy: A true model of church-state separation.

Virginia (1776)

• Religious Freedom: Groundbreaking declaration that religion is a matter of reason and conviction.
• Test for Office: None.
• Establishment: Abolished by 1786 Statute for Religious Freedom.

Rhode Island, like Connecticut, did not write a new constitution in the Revolutionary period; it continued operating under its royal Charter of 1663 – a document extraordinary for its early guarantee of religious freedom. Rhode Island’s charter, established under the influence of Roger Williams, provided that no person “shall at any time hereafter be any wise molested, punished, disquieted, or called in question, for any differences in opinion in matters of religion,” so long as they did not disturb the civil peace. It granted to the inhabitants of Rhode Island “full libertye in religious concernements,” meaning the government could not compel any uniformity of worship. This made Rhode Island the first political entity in the Western world to guarantee such broad freedom of conscience. The charter explicitly allowed free exercise of religion for all: “all and every person…may, from time to time, and at all times hereafter, freely and fully have and enjoy his and their own judgments and consciences in matters of religious concernments…they behaving themselves peaceably and quietly.”. There was no established church in Rhode Island; in fact, the charter was designed as a “lively experiment” to prove that a civil state could flourish with liberty of conscience and without an establishment. It’s worth noting, however, that Rhode Island’s approach, while radical in toleration, was still rooted in a Christian worldview. The charter’s preamble makes clear the colonists’ purpose of advancing the Christian faith and winning the Native Americans to Christianity. It also contains the interesting provision that the colony’s people were incorporated as a body politic so they could better defend themselves “in their just rights and liberties against all the enemies of the Christian faith”. This language underscores that Rhode Island leaders assumed a Christian context even as they refused to enforce any single doctrine. In practical effect, by the eighteenth century Rhode Island was a refuge for Baptists, Quakers, Jews, and others who faced discrimination elsewhere. Under the charter (which remained its constitution until 1842), no religious test for office existed and no taxes were levied for any church – a sharp contrast to most other states. The only limitation on freedom of worship was the standard caveat that liberty of conscience could not be used to justify licentiousness, profaneness, or to infringe on others’ rights. In summary, Rhode Island’s foundational law stood alone in the Revolutionary era for its unqualified endorsement of religious freedom and absence of any establishment or test. It “provided for the ‘free exercise and enjoyment’ of the subjects’ civil and religious rights” from the outset, making Rhode Island a shining early example of separation of church and state.

Patterns and Themes

• Religious Freedom: All states embraced some form of religious liberty, though most applied it only to Christians or Protestants.
• Religious Tests: 9 of the 13 states had religious tests for office—most commonly requiring Protestant or Christian belief.
• Establishment: Only a few states (Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, South Carolina) had tax-supported religious establishments.
• Clergy Exclusion: Several states barred clergy from civil roles to ensure institutional separation.

Despite each state’s unique phrasing and approach, some clear patterns emerge in how religion influenced the original state constitutions. All thirteen states endorsed the principle of religious liberty to some extent, but typically within a Christian (and often Protestant) frame. Many new constitutions included ringing affirmations of the right of conscience and worship – echoing the ideals later enshrined in the First Amendment. For example, Virginia’s 1776 Declaration of Rights declared that religion is a matter of reason and conviction, not to be compelled by force, and that “all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience.” Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, and others used similar language about the right to worship Almighty God according to one’s conscience.

At the same time, several states explicitly maintained religious tests or qualifications for public office – something the eventual U.S. Constitution would forbid. Nine of the thirteen original states had some form of religious test in their early constitutions】. Most commonly, these tests required officeholders to be Christians, or even specifically Protestants. For instance, Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania (all 1776) required officials to profess faith in Christianity (with Delaware and Pennsylvania demanding affirmation of belief in God and Scripture). North Carolina and Georgia restricted office to Protestants, as did South Carolina (1778) and New Hampshire (1784). New Jersey likewise allowed only Protestants to hold legislative office. Even Massachusetts, while permitting Catholics to serve, made officials swear allegiance to “the Christian religion”. New York, Rhode Island, and (informally) Virginia were outliers in not imposing any religious test for state-level offices. The prevalent motive behind these tests was to ensure officeholders upheld the broadly Christian moral order; in practice, they excluded non-Christians (and often Catholics) from power** for many decades.

Regarding establishments of religion, the states varied from retaining an official church, to having multiple “approved” churches, to explicitly prohibiting establishments. Four states maintained some form of single-church establishment after 1776: Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire kept the Congregational (Puritan) churches as tax-supported established churches (though Massachusetts and New Hampshire allowed individuals to direct taxes to their own denomination). Maryland initially allowed a general tax for “the Christian religion” (though no single church), and South Carolina’s 1778 constitution created a unique multiple establishment of all Protestant churches. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, and North Carolina, on the other hand, explicitly forbade establishing any one sect by law. These states embraced institutional separation of church and state even as they often affirmed the importance of religion for civic virtue. Notably, Rhode Island’s founding charter never permitted an establishment at all, and Virginia by 1786 (Jefferson’s Statute of Religious Freedom) would pioneer comprehensive separation.

Another common pattern was exclusion of clergy from government roles, seen in Delaware, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. This reflected an effort to prevent religious authorities from wielding civil power – a reaction against both colonial establishments and European models where clergy sat in government. In terms of differences, one major contrast was the breadth of toleration. Rhode Island and Pennsylvania offered the broadest freedom, effectively welcoming people of any faith (Pennsylvania only drew the line at those who did not acknowledge one God). New York’s promise of free exercise “to all mankind” without preference was similarly expansive】[71]. Virginia’s declaration was sweeping (though its officeholders in practice were all Protestant since the Anglican establishment had only just been disestablished). In contrast, states like Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire maintained systems that, while allowing dissenting worship, still privileged Protestant Christianity in law. And North Carolina’s and Maryland’s constitutions did not even recognize non-Christians as entitled to full religious liberty** – they explicitly limited protection to Christians.

Finally, the states differed in how long their religious provisions lasted. Some restrictive clauses were soon liberalized (e.g. Pennsylvania dropping the New Testament portion of its oath in 1790, Georgia removing its Protestant test by 1789). Others persisted into the 19th century (Massachusetts’ tax support for churches lasted until 1833, and North Carolina’s Protestant test endured until 1835). These early constitutions show the new American states groping toward a balance of protecting religious freedom without totally divorcing religion from public life. Most states stopped short of modern secular neutrality; instead, they endorsed a general Christianity or Protestantism as socially beneficial, even when they prohibited legally privileging one sect. As one historian observed, at the time of the First Amendment’s framing (1789), every state’s fundamental laws were “clearly and unmistakably Christian” in orientation, yet a trend was underway toward broader inclusivity and disestablishment. The diversity among the thirteen states’ original constitutions on religion – from Rhode Island’s radical toleration to South Carolina’s Protestant establishment – provided the laboratory of ideas out of which the national principle of “no establishment” and “free exercise for all” eventually emerged.

Conclusion

The original 13 state constitutions reflect a deep entanglement between faith and governance. While many protected freedom of worship, most assumed officeholders would be Christian—and often Protestant. The nation’s eventual move toward full religious equality and disestablishment was seeded in these early contradictions.

Religion in the Original Constitutions of the Thirteen States.docx

Bibliography

Primary Sources (Texts of Constitutions, Charters, and Declarations)

• Connecticut (1662, reaffirmed 1776). The Charter of Connecticut (1662); Preamble/Resolve asserting charter as constitution (1776). Yale Law School, Avalon Project. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/ct03.asp

• Delaware (1776). Constitution of Delaware (1776). Yale Law School, Avalon Project. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/de02.asp

• Georgia (1777). Constitution of Georgia (1777). Yale Law School, Avalon Project. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/ga01.asp

• Maryland (1776). Declaration of Rights and Constitution (1776). Yale Law School, Avalon Project. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/md02.asp

• Massachusetts (1780). Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1780). Commonwealth of Massachusetts (official). https://malegislature.gov/laws/constitution

• New Hampshire (1784). Constitution of New Hampshire (1784, as amended—original text referenced). State of New Hampshire (official). https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/CONST/constitution.htm

• New Jersey (1776). Constitution of New Jersey (1776). Yale Law School, Avalon Project. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/nj02.asp

• New York (1777). Constitution of New York (1777). Yale Law School, Avalon Project. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/ny01.asp

• North Carolina (1776). Declaration of Rights and Constitution of North Carolina (1776). Yale Law School, Avalon Project. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/nc07.asp

• Pennsylvania (1776). Declaration of Rights and Constitution of Pennsylvania (1776). Yale Law School, Avalon Project. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/pa08.asp

• Rhode Island (1663). Charter of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (1663). Yale Law School, Avalon Project. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/ri04.asp

• South Carolina (1778). Constitution of South Carolina (March 19, 1778). Yale Law School, Avalon Project. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/sc02.asp

• Virginia (1776; 1786). Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776); Statute for Religious Freedom (1786). Yale Law School, Avalon Project. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/virg06.asp https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/virg09.asp

Reference Compilations of Early State Constitutions

• Thorpe, Francis Newton, ed. The Federal and State Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and Other Organic Laws of the States, Territories, and Colonies Now or Heretofore Forming the United States of America. 7 vols. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1909. (Digitized at Library of Congress/Internet Archive.) https://archive.org/details/federalstatecons01thor

Secondary Works on Religion and Early State Constitutions

• Dreisbach, Daniel L. Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017.

• Hall, Mark David. Did America Have a Christian Founding? Nashville: Nelson, 2019. (Useful synthesis on state-level religious provisions.)

• Hamburger, Philip. Separation of Church and State. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002.

• Levy, Leonard W. The Establishment Clause: Religion and the First Amendment. 2nd ed. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1994.

• McConnell, Michael W. “Establishment and Disestablishment at the Founding, Part I: Establishment of Religion.” William and Mary Law Review 44, no. 5 (2003): 2105–2200. https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmlr/vol44/iss5/3

• Witte, John Jr., and Joel A. Nichols, eds. Religion and the American Constitutional Experiment. 5th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022.

Note: Where possible, this bibliography cites primary texts from official state sites or the Avalon Project for direct quotations. Secondary works provide context on religious liberty, religious tests, establishments/disestablishments, and clergy restrictions in the founding era.