Read the following excerpt from the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, drafted by Thomas Jefferson and passed by the Virginia General Assembly in 1786:
"Well aware that Almighty God hath created the mind free; that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness... that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion..."
Which of the following historical developments during the post-Revolutionary era represents the most direct social consequence of the ideals expressed in the excerpt?
- AThe creation of a strong federal government with the authority to regulate local religious practices and enforce moral standards
- BThe alignment of the Democratic-Republican party with British political models to preserve traditional religious hierarchies
- The gradual disestablishment of state-supported churches in the newly independent statesAnswer
- DThe immediate passage of imperial taxation policies like the Stamp Act to fund colonial parish clergy