--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Knowledge and liberty are so prevalent in…" description: "\"Knowledge and liberty are so prevalent in this country, that I do not believe that the United States would ever be disposed to establish one religious ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c7/oliver-wolcott-103995_believe_knowledge-and-liberty-are-so-prevalent-i_2829055.jpg" --- # Knowledge and liberty are so prevalent in this country… ![“Knowledge and liberty are so prevalent in this country, that I do not believe that the United States would ever be disposed to establish one religious sect, and lay all others under legal disabilities. But as we know not what may take place hereafter, and any such test would be exceedingly…” quote by Oliver Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c7/oliver-wolcott-103995_believe_knowledge-and-liberty-are-so-prevalent-i_2829055.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c7/oliver-wolcott-103995_believe_knowledge-and-liberty-are-so-prevalent-i_2829055.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c7/oliver-wolcott-103995_believe_knowledge-and-liberty-are-so-prevalent-i_2829055.jpg) > “Knowledge and liberty are so prevalent in this country, that I do not believe that the United States would ever be disposed to establish one religious sect, and lay all others under legal disabilities. But as we know not what may take place hereafter, and any such test would be exceedingly injurious to the rights of free citizens, I cannot think it altogether superfluous to have added a clause, which secures us from the possibility of such oppression.” Oliver Wolcott ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates protecting religious freedom by preventing establishment of a state church and ensuring no legal disabilities for any sect. **In simple terms:** Protect religious liberty from government oppression. Key Takeaway Include constitutional safeguards for religious freedom. Themes religious liberty separation of church and state constitutional rights founding principles civil liberties Mood thoughtful protective Type historical political When to use this quote - legislative drafting - judicial review - public policy - civic education Key Concepts religious tolerance legal safeguards government overreach constitutional design Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance religious freedom with other rights? - What mechanisms keep constitutional protections effective? 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They hold that the accumulation of money is a great evil and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-yen-buddhists-are-the-richest-religious-sect-in-the-universe-they/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Chord substitution isn't some mysterious religious sect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-roberts/chord-substitution-isn-t-some-mysterious-religious-sect/) [Howard Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-roberts/) > [Only greatly insolent people establish a religious law which is to be taken for granted by others, which should be accepted by everyone on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/only-greatly-insolent-people-establish-a-religious-law-which-is-to-be/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [There is no liberty to men whose passions are stronger than their religious feelings; there is no liberty to men in whom ignorance predominates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/there-is-no-liberty-to-men-whose-passions-are-stronger-than-their/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“The truth is, I think, that they are caught in a sort of argument in a circle. Their vague philosophy says to them: "All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-truth-is-i-think-that-they-are-caught-in-a-sort-of-argument-in-a/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [It is a common protector of each and all the States; of every man who lives upon our soil, whether of native or foreign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-polk-2/it-is-a-common-protector-of-each-and-all-the-states-of-every-man-who/) [James K Polk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-polk-2/) > [“Some religions actually go so far as to label anyone who belongs to a religious sect other than their own a heretic, even though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-szandor-lavey/some-religions-actually-go-so-far-as-to-label-anyone-who-belongs-to-a/) [Anton Szandor LaVey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-szandor-lavey/) > [“We were a religious sect consisting of two people, and now half the congregation was gone. There would be no closure, no healing. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-marcus/we-were-a-religious-sect-consisting-of-two-people-and-now-half-the/) [James Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-marcus/) > [If a sect arises whose tenets would subvert morals, good sense has fair play and reasons and laughs it out of doors without suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/if-a-sect-arises-whose-tenets-would-subvert-morals-good-sense-has/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The Church of Rome has made it an article of faith that no man can be saved out of their church, and all other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/the-church-of-rome-has-made-it-an-article-of-faith-that-no-man-can-be/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [ “There exists indeed an opposition to it \[ building of UVA, Jefferson's secular college \] by the friends of William and Mary, which is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-exists-indeed-an-opposition-to-it-building-of-uva-jefferson-s/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [It was seldom that I attended any religious meetings, as my parents had not much faith in and were never so unfortunate as to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-pratt/it-was-seldom-that-i-attended-any-religious-meetings-as-my-parents/) [Orson Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-pratt/) > [A federated structure in Iraq based on ethnicity or religious sects will not be healthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/recep-tayyip-erdogan/a-federated-structure-in-iraq-based-on-ethnicity-or-religious-sects/) [Recep Tayyip Erdogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/recep-tayyip-erdogan/) > [Nostalgia is also a trait of the organizations that I call lodges - everything from corporate cultures to religious sects. Their bonding power often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-james/nostalgia-is-also-a-trait-of-the-organizations-that-i-call-lodges/) [Jennifer James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-james/) ## More by Oliver Wolcott > [The Constitution enjoins an oath upon all the officers of the United States. This is a direct appeal to that God Who is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wolcott/the-constitution-enjoins-an-oath-upon-all-the-officers-of-the-united/) Oliver Wolcott Explore all 2 Oliver Wolcott quotes ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. 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I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. 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Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Knowledge and liberty are so prevalent in this country, that I do not believe that the United States would ever be disposed to establish one religious sect, and lay all others under legal disabilities. 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