Separation of Church & State vol. 3

I am continuing my efforts to read more and more about the foundation of the Separation of Church and State. Today I bring you a quote from George Mason, one of the most unrecognized figures in US history. Mason drafted the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the first law of its kind. He attended the Continental Congress and fought to ratify the Constitution because it contained no bill of rights. Mason would not sign the final Constitution document but his fight led to the First 10 Amendments of the Constitution. This quote is proof that the driving force of our founding fathers continues to be chopped up and used for personal gain. (Most politicians take out or skip that last sentence)

George Mason
Author of the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights
The Papers of George Mason, Vol. 3, p. 1071, 1119

"That Religion, or the Duty which we owe to our Creator, and the Manner of discharging it, can be directed only by Reason and 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 of Conscience, and that no particular religious Sect or Society ought to be favored or established by Law, in Preference to others"