BEFORE THE CONSTITUTION

Something else I didn't know: many of the States discriminated on the basis of religion. (From The Debate..., Part One, pp. 1117-1122)

NEW JERSEY: Office holders had to be Protestants.

DELAWARE: Office holders had to be Christian.

PENNSYLVANIA: All members of the general assembly had to believe in one God and the divine inspiration of the Old and New Testaments.

MARYLAND: Office holders had to be Christian.

NORTH CAROLINA: Office holders had to be Protestants.

GEORGIA: Office holders had to be Protestants.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Office holders had to be Protestants and the "Christian Protestant religion" was established in the state.

MASSACHUSETTS: Article III allowed the legislature to mandate public support for Protestant denominations, essentially continuing the establishment of the Congregationalists. The governor, senators and representatives had to be declared Christians.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Similar to Massachusetts.


The key point about this list is that despite religious discrimination being a major factor in these states, the federal Constitution did not favor any religion whatsoever.