There were some "Christian" requirements in Pennsylvania.(1776 Const. Sec. 10 (belief in old and new testament). 

In terms of VA, the 1802 law was (rightly) declared unconstitutional in 1815, but most of the property had been sold by then. 


"higher taxes...the best mode for restoring the credit of the paper currency..." Culpeper Citizens, May 1779 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Langdon" <[log in to unmask]> 
To: [log in to unmask] 
Sent: Saturday, November 13, 2010 4:55:44 AM 
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Religous tests in early Va -clarifying my question 

--- On Tue, 11/9/10, Finkelman, Paul <[log in to unmask]> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:<< 
So my question is this: IS there a religious test for officeholding in VA that is statutory but not constitutional that exists before the Revolution and continues afterwards? >> 

No. Virginia had statutory requirements of being an Anglican and later to “conform” to the Church of England, and to not be a Papist [Catholic], from the earliest charters, until 1786. Quakers, Menonists, and “other separatists” were outlawed – not just to hold office, but their gathering and marriages were illegal. So, obviously they couldn’t hold office. You can find the statutes throughout Henings’s Statutes at Large: http://www.vagenweb.org/hening/index.htm 

The 1786 clause that religion “will not diminish, enlarge, or affect” civil capacities, ended any possibility of having an *official* religious test to hold office after that date. 

In the short period between the end of the war and 1786, some of the laws were still on the books, but not enforced. Once a law is passes, it remains until officially repealed, which didn’t happen until 1799 and 1802, when all of the laws regarding the Anglican Church and even the American Episcopal Church, were repealed by the legislature. The code of 1802 embodies Jefferson’s exact words concerning civil capacity, and was also added to our 1830 Constitution. The state even confiscated all Anglican glebe lands and returned them to the public, whose tax money had funded their purchase. Virginia had other ways to control who was elected to office. 

I thought Pennsylvania was a colony that never had an official religion. Or did you have to be a Christian to hold office there? 

Langdon Hagen-Long 

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