"The government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion"

Cesare Beccaria (1738) It was on this date, March 15, 1738, the famous Italian legal reformer Cesare, Marquis of Beccaria-Bonesana, was born in Milan. He opposed the death penalty and believed education would reduce crime – a belief borne out in practice so frequently to this day that only a Christian Dominionist would dispute it. […]

There are in this country... a certain proportion of restless and turbulent spirits who must always have something to quarrel about with their neighbors. These people are the authors of religious revivals.

“No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever… All men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion.”