Thomas Jefferson drafted Virginia's Statute for Religious Freedom, enacted in 1786.
Jefferson wrote the statute in 1777 and introduced it in Virginia's General Assembly in 1779. It was not enacted immediately. After Patrick Henry proposed a measure supporting public funding for Christian teachers, James Madison and other opponents organized resistance, and Madison revived Jefferson's statute as an alternative.
The Virginia Assembly enacted the measure on January 16, 1786. It disestablished the Church of England in Virginia and guaranteed religious freedom to people of different faiths, including Christians of all denominations, Jews, Muslims, and Hindus. The law rejected the idea that civil rights should depend on religious belief.
The statute influenced later American ideas about church and state, including the First Amendment's Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses. Jefferson considered it one of his three most important accomplishments and directed that it be mentioned on his tombstone. Madison guided the bill through the legislature while Jefferson was serving as minister to France.