Otras opiniones comenzaron entonces a infiltrarse, y el gran empeño del gobierno en apo- yar a su propia iglesia, habiendo engen- drado un grado equivalente de indolencia en su clero, dos terceras partes del pueblo se ha- bían vuelto disidentes al comienzo de la pre- sente revolución.
Las leyes en verdad seguían siendo opresivas para ellos, pero el espíritu de la una parte había menguado hasta alcanzar la moderación, y el de la otra se había eleva- do hasta un grado de determinación que imponía respeto.
The preſent ſtate of our laws on the ſubject of religion is this. The convention of May 1776, in their declaration of rights, declared it to be a truth, and a natural right, that the exerciſe of religion ſhould be free; but when they proceded to form on that declaration the ordinance of government, inſtead of taking up every principle declared in the bill of rights, and guarding it by legiſlative ſanction, they paſſed over that which aſſerted our religious rights, leaving them as they found them.
The ſame convention, however, when they met as a member of the gene- ral aſſembly in October, 1776, repealed all acts of parliament which had rendered criminal the maintaining any opinions in matters of religion, the forbearing to repair to church, and the exerciſing any mode of worſhip; and ſuſpended the laws giving [ 3IO ] ſalaries to the clergy, which ſuſpenſion was made perpetual in October 1779.
Desaparecidas así las opresiones estatutarias en materia de religión, nos encontramos en el presente bajo aquellas únicas impuestas por el derecho consuetudinario, o por nuestros propios actos de la asamblea.
At the common law, herejy was a capital offence, punifliable by burning. Its definition was left to the ecclefiaftical judges, before whom the conviftion was, till the ftatute of the I El. c. I. circumfcribed it, by declaring, that nothing (hould be deemed herefy, but what had been fo determined by authority of the canonical fcriptures, or by one of the four firft general coun- cils, or by other council having for the grounds of their declaration the exprefs and plain words of the fcriptures.