Nov 22 2024 - Our Founders kept the State out of the Church!

Today’s Tea Time is from my guest, Travis Witt. After the Declaration of Independence was approved, Virginians had a problem.  Some of us were merchants, bankers, and urban dwellers. They were members of the Episcopal Church and received taxes to pay for their rectors and facilities. They were not hunters. However, the Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterian congregations were rural, and they needed to hunt.  Within three months 10,000 men signed a petition saying they would fight for Virginia if the government would no longer tax them to pay for a state church. Some pastors were locked up because they married couples, or baptized without being ordained on the Episcopal Church. The taxes were rescinded before the end of 1776. Thomas Jefferson realized that belief in God cannot be forced or coerced, and the taxation would not encourage anyone to attend church. Jefferson’s Statute of Religious Liberties were written to keep the state out of the church, and allow a man’s heart to be influenced by God.   Sponsored by the Caylor Group Wealth Management in Lynchburg VA. Call 434-455-7197.