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The inseparable connection of democracy, freedom of religion, and the other forms of freedom became the political and legal basis of the new nation. In particular, Baptists and Presbyterians demanded vigorously and successfully the disestablishment of the Anglican and Congregational state churches that had existed in most colonies since the ...
Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance.
Features of democracy oftentimes include freedom of assembly, association, personal property, freedom of religion and speech, citizenship, consent of the governed, voting rights, freedom from unwarranted governmental deprivation of the right to life and liberty, and minority rights. The notion of democracy has evolved considerably over time.
James Madison was influenced by the struggle of Baptists in Virginia before the Revolution, where young men were jailed for preaching without a license from the Anglican Church. As a young lawyer, Madison defended such men in court. Both Madison and Jefferson incorporated religious freedom into the state constitution of Virginia. [citation needed]
"The framers of the Constitution gave us a constitutional republic," Morris said. "However, U.S. political history is nothing more than a history of democratization. So today we are a democratized ...
Democracy: government answerable to citizens, who may change who represents them through elections. Equality before the law: laws that attach no special privilege to any citizen and hold government officials subject just as any other person. [34] Freedom of religion: government that neither supports nor suppresses any or all religion.
This two-fold epoch dating serves to place the Constitution in the context of the religious traditions of Western civilization and, at the same time, links it to the regime principles proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence. This dual reference can also be found in the Articles of Confederation and the Northwest Ordinance.
More broadly, in Federalist No. 10, Madison distinguished a democracy from a republic. Jefferson warned that "an elective despotism is not the government we fought for." [80] Madison wrote: In a democracy, the people meet and exercise the government in person; in a republic, they assemble and administer it by their representatives and agents.