William Penn and the American Heritage of Religious Liberty

Abstract

[I]mposition, restraint, and persecution for matters relating to conscience directly invade the divine prerogative, and divest the Almighty of a due, proper to none besides himself.— William Penn, The Great Case of Liberty of Conscience, 1683[The] right to religious liberty based upon freedom of conscience remains fundamental and inalienable. While particular beliefs may be true or false, better or worse, the right to reach, hold, exercise them freely, or change them, is basic and non-negotiable.— The Williamsburg CharterIn affirming that the First Amendment Religion Clauses are one of America's great contributions to Western civilization, the Williamsburg Charter appropriately looks to our nation's rich heritage of religious liberty. Like the Declaration of Independence, the Charter is a consensus document that recognizes human dignity and the importance of moral values that transcend the state. It eloquently invokes many of the historic principles that influenced the Founders in creating the republic, including inalienable rights, liberty of conscience, government by popular consent, the danger of centralized governmental power, the role of religion as a source of civic virtue, and the evils resulting from an established church. The Charter also emphasizes the close connection between civil and religious liberty.