Dave Bowman's Book of Blessings

Toleration... Kind Of...

Before there was freedom of religion in America, before Thomas Jefferson penned the Virginia Statute, before James Madison hammered out the First Amendment, there was a moment in 1688 when England, ever so cautiously, took a step toward religious tolerance. The Toleration Act of 1688, often referenced by its date of royal assent in 1689, was not a dramatic leap into liberty. It was more like loosening a stiff collar after a long and tense dinner. Yet even this modest breath of fresh air stirred ideas that would cross the Atlantic and take root in American soil.