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CONSTITUTION
Connecticut
1818
Over
the years since the Revolution and into the first quarter
of the Nineteenth Century, opposition to the established
church increased. The final of a series of hard fought
victories for religious freedom in Connecticut came
following the election of Governor Oliver Wolcott in
1817. Under the leadership of their new liberal governor,
the state legislature began to modify existing laws
restricting religious freedom, and to enact new laws
expanding the rights of non-established churches. These
changes culminated in the constitutional convention
of 1818, which produced a constitution and bill of rights
guaranteeing the free exercise of religious beliefs,
while refusing to give legal sanction to any Christian
sect or mode of worship. Lyman Beacher, a political
leader in the state and an ardent supporter of church
establishment, summed up the long struggle for disestablishment
as follows:
In
this moment of dejection my heart was cheered by
the sight of the good old ship CONNECTICUT — her
hull and rigging all the same, but oh how changed!
With the exception of some few of her old officers,
she was commanded by midshipmen and common sailors,
cooks and cabin-boys, and navigated by raw hands.
Her broad pennant, which had floated at masthead
for almost two centuries, and whose moto was, "Talents
and virtue shall guide us through," was trodden
under foot, and in its place was a new pennant,
on which was inscribed in capitals, "Toleration;
or reason and philosophy shall guide us." Her
sails were tattered, and she was only moving under
the influence of former gales.
Beacher,
Lyman, 1 Autobiography at 405.
However,
Beacher's forebodings were never realized, as religion
and the various sects in Connecticut were thriving under
the new system. This result supports Madison's oft-repeated
words that religion and government could survive and
thrive independent of one another.
RJ&L
Religious Institutions Group
PREAMBLE.
The
people of Connecticut, acknowledging with gratitude the
good providence of God, in having permitted them to enjoy
a free government, do, in order more effectually to define,
secure, and perpetuate the liberties, rights, and privileges
which they have derived from their ancestors, hereby, after
a careful consideration and revision, ordain and establish
the following constitution and form of civil government:
ARTICLE
I.
DECLARATION
OF RIGHTS.
That
the great and essential principles of liberty and free government
may be recognized and established, we declare:
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* * *
Sec.
3. The exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and
worship, without discrimination, shall forever be free to
all persons in this State, provided that the right hereby
declared and established shall not be so construed as to
excuse acts of licentiousness, or to justify practices inconsistent
with the peace and safety of the State.
Sec.
4. No preference shall be given by law to any Christian
sect or mode of worship.
Sec.
5. Every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his
sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse
of that liberty.
Sec.
6. No law shall ever be passed to curtail or restrain the
liberty of speech or of the press.
*
* * *
Sec.
16. The citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to
assemble for their common good, and to apply to those invested
with the powers of government for redress of grievances,
or other proper purposes, by petition, address, or remonstrance.
*
* * *
Source:
the federal and state constitutions, colonial charters,
and other organic laws of the united states 258-59 (Ben:
Perley Poore, 1878).
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