Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments
A petition to the General Assembly of Virginia, drafted by James Madison in 1785, giving fifteen reasons against a bill to support teachers of the Christian religion from taxes. It argues that religion lies outside the authority of civil government.
The Memorial was written to be signed by citizens and presented to the assembly, and it speaks in their name (“We the subscribers”). It circulated without Madison’s name; the editors of his papers date it about 20 June 1785 and note that he acknowledged it as his only in 1826. Its fifteen numbered paragraphs each begin “Because”, and several of them argue from Christian premises: that the Christian religion needs no support from the state and has been harmed by it.
It is a piece of advocacy in a political contest, and its picture of established churches is a partisan one. It is cited in Religious Freedom in the United States for the argument it makes.
Cited in
- 1786 to 1791, firm date