...And the first governmental definition of the word in the United States, declared that "religion" is "the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it." Now governments deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, can never of right...

...or to infringe the rights of conscience." The amendment suggested by Virginia is better. It says : "That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator,...not by force or violence ; and, therefore, all men have an equal, natural and unalienable right to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates...

...ought to be exempted upon payment of an equivalent, to employ another to bear arms in his stead. 20. That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator,...conviction, not by force or violence, and therefore all men have an equal, natural, and unalienable right to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates...

...or to infringe the rights of conscience." The amendment suggested by Virginia is better. It says : " That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator,...not by force or violence ; and, therefore, all men have an equal, natural and unalienable right to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates...

...moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles. 14. That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator,...conviction, not by force or violence ; and, therefore, that all men should enjoy the fullest toleration in the exercise of religion, according to the dictates...

...by the Convention. The twentieth article of the Bill of Rights in this manuscript is as follows : " That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator,...directed only by reason and conviction, not by force and violence, and therefore all men have an equal, natural and unalienable right to the free exercise...

...religious belief, according to the dictates of conscience. In this memorial they said : — "The duty that we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can only be directed by reason and conviction, and is nowhere cognizable but at the tribunal of the universal...

...ought to be exempted upon payment of an equivalent to employ another to bear arms in his stead. 10. That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator,...conviction, not by force or violence, and therefore all men have an equal, natural and unalienable right to the free exercise of religion according to the dictates...

...sixteenth section of which, as written by George Mason, and amended by James Madison, reads as follows: "That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator,...directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violencej and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion according to...

...construed as exceptions to certain specified powers, or as inserted merely for greater caution. 4 th That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator,...it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, and not by force or violence, and therefore all men, have an equal, natural and unalienable right to...