--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our Constitution... has not left the…" description: "\"Our Constitution... has not left the religion of its citizens under the power of its public functionaries, were it possible that any of these should co..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/thomas-jefferson-43_atheism_our-constitution-has-not-left-the-religi_2848749.jpg" --- # Our Constitution... has not left the religion of its… ![“Our Constitution... has not left the religion of its citizens under the power of its public functionaries, were it possible that any of these should consider a conquest over the conscience of men either attainable or applicable to any desirable purpose.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/thomas-jefferson-43_atheism_our-constitution-has-not-left-the-religi_2848749.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/thomas-jefferson-43_atheism_our-constitution-has-not-left-the-religi_2848749.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/thomas-jefferson-43_atheism_our-constitution-has-not-left-the-religi_2848749.jpg) > “Our Constitution... has not left the religion of its citizens under the power of its public functionaries, were it possible that any of these should consider a conquest over the conscience of men either attainable or applicable to any desirable purpose.” [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Jefferson warns that public officials should not dominate citizens' religious conscience for political ends. **In simple terms:** Government should not control personal belief. Key Takeaway Guard religious freedom from political misuse. Themes religion government freedom Mood cautious thoughtful Type political ethical When to use this quote - policy making - public office - citizen rights - legislative debates Key Concepts separation of church and state political power Questions to Reflect On - How can societies protect conscience while ensuring civic unity? - What limits should be placed on governmental moral authority? A Different Perspective Balancing moral influence and democratic governance is complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Citizens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizens/) [Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquest/) [Conquest Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquest-conscience-3778370/) [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Conscience Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience-men-1275264/) [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Desirable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desirable/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Positive atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-atheism/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Citizens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-citizens-3778369/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) ## Related quotes > [Conscience in most men, is but the anticipation of the opinions of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-taylor/conscience-in-most-men-is-but-the-anticipation-of-the-opinions-of/) [Jeremy Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-taylor/) > [It does not become America that within her borders, where every man is free to follow the dictates of his conscience, men should raise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/it-does-not-become-america-that-within-her-borders-where-every-man-is/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Stricken by a guilty conscience, some men will say that I speak with excessive temerity about all men in general. They are greatly mistaken.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arcangela-tarabotti/stricken-by-a-guilty-conscience-some-men-will-say-that-i-speak-with/) [Arcangela Tarabotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arcangela-tarabotti/) > [“Let us be honest. Did all the priests of Rome increase the mental wealth of man as much as Bruno? Did all the priests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-g-ingersoll/let-us-be-honest-did-all-the-priests-of-rome-increase-the-mental/) [Robert G. Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-g-ingersoll/) > [Conscience is, in most men, an anticipation of the opinions of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-taylor/conscience-is-in-most-men-an-anticipation-of-the-opinions-of-others/) [Henry Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-taylor/) > [ We have no paupers ... 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Colleges for a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-proposed-three-distinct-grades-of-education-reaching-all-classes-1/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Let it be signified to me through any channelthat the possession of the Floridas would be desirable to the United States, andin sixty days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/let-it-be-signified-to-me-through-any-channelthat-the-possession-of/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Knowledge indeed is a desirable, a lovely possession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/knowledge-indeed-is-a-desirable-a-lovely-possession/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Conquest is not in our principles. It is inconsistent with our government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/conquest-is-not-in-our-principles-it-is-inconsistent-with-our/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Is uniformity of opinion desirable? No more than that of face and stature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/is-uniformity-of-opinion-desirable-no-more-than-that-of-face-and/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [If we move in mass, be it ever so circuitously, we shall attain our object; but if we break into squads, everyone pursuing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/if-we-move-in-mass-be-it-ever-so-circuitously-we-shall-attain-our/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [We did not raise armies for glory or for conquest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-did-not-raise-armies-for-glory-or-for-conquest/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Subject opinion to coercion: whom will you make your inquisitors? Fallible men; men governed by bad passions, by private as well as public reasons.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/subject-opinion-to-coercion-whom-will-you-make-your-inquisitors/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Nothing but free argument, raillery and even ridicule will preserve the purity of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/nothing-but-free-argument-raillery-and-even-ridicule-will-preserve/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## More by Thomas Jefferson > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ \[States and the Federal government are\] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/states-and-the-federal-government-are-coordinate-departments-of-one/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendency of one sect over another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-for-freedom-of-religion-and-against-all-maneuvers-to-bring-about/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/single-acts-of-tyranny-may-be-ascribed-to-the-accidental-opinion-of-a/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Perceiving the order of nature to be that individual happiness shall be inseparable from the practice of virtue, I am willing to hope it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/perceiving-the-order-of-nature-to-be-that-individual-happiness-shall/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/free-government-is-founded-in-jealousy-and-not-in-confidence-it-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Though you cannot see, when you take one step, what will be the next, yet follow truth, justice, and plain dealing, and never fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/though-you-cannot-see-when-you-take-one-step-what-will-be-the-next/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-well-informed-citizenry-is-the-best-defense-against-tyranny/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The two principles on which our conduct towards the Indians should be founded are justice and fear. After the injuries we have done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-two-principles-on-which-our-conduct-towards-the-indians-should-be/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Knowledge is power...knowled ge is safety...knowle dge is happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/knowledge-is-power-knowled-ge-is-safety-knowle-dge-is-happiness/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is... an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-an-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Nothing but free argument, raillery and even ridicule will preserve the purity of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/nothing-but-free-argument-raillery-and-even-ridicule-will-preserve/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [When the people are afraid of the government, that's tyranny. But when the government is afraid of the people, that's liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/when-the-people-are-afraid-of-the-government-that-s-tyranny-but-when/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident-that-all-men-are-created/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) [Explore all 2,098 Thomas Jefferson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## More Atheism quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. 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Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [God speaks through me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/god-speaks-through-me/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [You cannot ... transmute some incoherent mixture of words into sense merely by introducing the three-letter word "God" to be its grammatical subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/you-cannot-transmute-some-incoherent-mixture-of-words-into-sense/) [Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Do you think that was kind? 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