---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have no right to prejudice another in…"
description: "\"We have no right to prejudice another in his civil enjoyments because he is of another church.\" — Thomas Jefferson"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/thomas-jefferson-43_church_we-have-no-right-to-prejudice-another-in_1969260.jpg"
---

#  We have no right to prejudice another in his civil…

![“We have no right to prejudice another in his civil enjoyments because he is of another church.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/thomas-jefferson-43_church_we-have-no-right-to-prejudice-another-in_1969260.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/thomas-jefferson-43_church_we-have-no-right-to-prejudice-another-in_1969260.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/thomas-jefferson-43_church_we-have-no-right-to-prejudice-another-in_1969260.jpg)

> “We have no right to prejudice another in his civil enjoyments because he is of another church.”

[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.

We must not impose our religious beliefs on others, respecting their freedom of worship.

**In simple terms:** Respect others’ religious freedom.

Key Takeaway

Uphold religious tolerance.

Themes

tolerance freedom rights

Mood

thoughtful serious

Type

ethical political

When to use this quote

- public policy
- education
- interfaith dialogue

Key Concepts

secularism human rights

Questions to Reflect On

- What limits exist on religious expression?
- How do we balance belief and liberty?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Civil Enjoyments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-enjoyments-3297439/) [Enjoyment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoyment/) [Enjoyments Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoyments-church-3297438/) [Prejudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prejudice/) [Prejudice Civil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prejudice-civil-3297436/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-freedom/) [Right Prejudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-prejudice-3297437/)

## Related quotes

> [Your constitution guarantees to every citizen, even the humblest, the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property. It promises to all, religious freedom, the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-smith-jr/your-constitution-guarantees-to-every-citizen-even-the-humblest-the/)

[Joseph Smith, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-smith-jr/)

> [ The law for religious freedom... \[has\]put down the aristocracy of the clergy and restored to the citizen the freedom of the mind. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-law-for-religious-freedom-has-put-down-the-aristocracy-of-the/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [“But our rulers can have authority over such natural rights only as we have submitted to them. The rights of conscience we never submitted,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/but-our-rulers-can-have-authority-over-such-natural-rights-only-as-we/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Are we to have a censor whose imprimatur shall say what books may be sold, and what we may buy? And who is thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/are-we-to-have-a-censor-whose-imprimatur-shall-say-what-books-may-be/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Here was buried Thomas Jefferson Author of the Declaration of American Independence Of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom &amp; Father of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/here-was-buried-thomas-jefferson-author-of-the-declaration-of-2/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Erecting the 'wall of separation between church and state'... is absolutely essential in a free society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/erecting-the-wall-of-separation-between-church-and-state-is/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [ The advocate of religious freedom is to expect neither peace nor forgiveness from \[the clergy\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-advocate-of-religious-freedom-is-to-expect-neither-peace-nor/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [In our early struggles for liberty, religious freedom could not fail to become a primary object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/in-our-early-struggles-for-liberty-religious-freedom-could-not-fail/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [“It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/it-does-me-no-injury-for-my-neighbour-to-say-there-are-20-gods-or-no/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [In reviewing the history of the times through which we have passed, no portion of it gives greater satisfaction or reflection, than that which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/in-reviewing-the-history-of-the-times-through-which-we-have-passed-no/)

[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/)

> [“Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and Father of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/here-was-buried-thomas-jefferson-author-of-the-declaration-of/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the Supreme Being as his father, in the womb of a virgin, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-day-will-come-when-the-mystical-generation-of-jesus-by-the/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [The information of the people at large can alone make them the safe as they are the sole depositary of our political and religious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-information-of-the-people-at-large-can-alone-make-them-the-safe/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [We have solved, by fair experiment, the great and interesting question whether freedom of religion is compatible with order in government and obedience to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-have-solved-by-fair-experiment-the-great-and-interesting-question/)

[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 Church quotes

> [While the 1963 Birmingham church bombing is the most historic, there also was a series of church burnings in the 1990s. Recognition of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/while-the-1963-birmingham-church-bombing-is-the-most-historic-there/)

[Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/)

> [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/)

[Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/)

> [Turn over the pages of history and read the damning record of the church's opposition to every advance in every field of science. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/turn-over-the-pages-of-history-and-read-the-damning-record-of-the/)

[Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/)

> [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/)

> [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/)

[Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/)

> [God is not calling us to go to church; he is calling us to be his church, the hope of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-groeschel/god-is-not-calling-us-to-go-to-church-he-is-calling-us-to-be-his/)

[Craig Groeschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-groeschel/)

> [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/)

[Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/)

> [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/)

[Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/)

> [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/)

[Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/)

> [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/)

[John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/)

> [A beggarly people, A church and no steeple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/a-beggarly-people-a-church-and-no-steeple/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

> [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [The minute you walk outside of your church on Sunday you're in mission territory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barron/the-minute-you-walk-outside-of-your-church-on-sunday-you-re-in/)

[Robert Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barron/)

> [I'm not ashamed of the things I believe and why I believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/i-m-not-ashamed-of-the-things-i-believe-and-why-i-believe-them/)

[Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/)

[Browse all 9,430 Church quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "We have no right to prejudice another in his civil enjoyments because he is of another church.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Thomas Jefferson"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-have-no-right-to-prejudice-another-in-his-civil-enjoyments-because/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Church"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-have-no-right-to-prejudice-another-in-his-civil-enjoyments-because/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/thomas-jefferson-43_church_we-have-no-right-to-prejudice-another-in_1969260.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/thomas-jefferson-43_church_we-have-no-right-to-prejudice-another-in_1969260.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/thomas-jefferson-43_church_we-have-no-right-to-prejudice-another-in_1969260.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We have no right to prejudice another in his civil enjoyments because he is of another church.” — Thomas Jefferson",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Thomas Jefferson",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We have no right to prejudice...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-have-no-right-to-prejudice-another-in-his-civil-enjoyments-because/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-have-no-right-to-prejudice-another-in-his-civil-enjoyments-because/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
