杰弗逊一辈子引以自豪的就是他亲自撰写的墓碑上写的三件事(总统职位都不算)：
“美国独立宣言和弗吉尼亚宗教自由法案的作者，以及弗吉尼亚大学之父 长眠于此”
读到杰弗逊写的独立宣言和宗教自由文章，总是感到很震撼和感动、感激（自由人才会发自内心的感激！），感叹于他对整个人类的自由的珍视，和对人性的洞察。不深刻了解人性，怎么能制定出好的法令呢？
这个法令的主体规定只占了全文的十分之一，140多字；而法令（1470多字）的十分之九是用来解释法令所依据的对人性的理解。让人想到几何题证明的风格。
反观有些中国的人，当人们试图富国强兵的时候，并没有通过恢复人们的自由和灵性来实现，而是简单地试图把中国人民从一盘散沙变成一盘螺丝钉。继续忽略人们的自由意志、和灵性。人们不断地拿物化的东西来比喻人的时候，就是不断地误导人的过程。一盘散沙，一盘螺丝钉，大老虎！小苍蝇！原子集合，基因载体，特殊材料，驯服工具，破烂流丢一口钟！可怜刘主席，也曾野心勃勃想把中国人都变幻成驯服工具，结果事败把自己变到床上动弹不得。人们是被变成驯服工具了，但是这个工具被别人掌握后，开始摧毁你了。本以为穿的是“山河社稷袄、乾坤地理裙”，最后落得“破烂流丢一口钟”裹身。如果人的灵性没有被先行摧毁，应该是不至于如此残酷地反过来迫害那些试图操作他们的人吧。
为什么不能简单直接如实地把人当人看，然后顺天行道呢？一个社会和国家真应该为了实现短期目标而让人民放弃自己的灵性、自由吗？
也许，美国就是上天派下来的一些神人在地球上建立的样板，让人们看到文明的方向何在。就像杰弗逊自己说的，制宪大会好像是一群半神的集会。( "An assembly of demigods.":)，让人学习如何用清晰的理性和智慧来规划社会组织和人的行为，让人们在地球上自由地追求自己的幸福。
《弗吉尼亚宗教自由法令》之全文(1786年）
一、全能的上帝既然把人类的思想创造成自由的；所以任何企图影响它的做法，无论是凭靠人世间的刑罚或压迫，或用法律规定来加以限制，结果将只是造成虚伪和卑鄙的习性，背离我们宗教的神圣创始者的旨意；他是躯体和精神的主宰，他无所不能，但是他并不强迫向我们的躯体和精神宣扬他的旨意：有些在世间的和教会中的立法者或统治者，他们本身不过是常有过失和没有得到圣感的人，而竟然对上帝不敬，以为他们有权统治其他人的信仰，他们把自己的意见和想法，说成唯一的永无错误的真理，并强迫世人予以接受。这些人自古以来，在世界上大多数的地方所建立的和所维持的，只是虚假的宗教而已。
强迫一个人捐钱，用以宣传他所不相信的见解，这是罪恶和专横的；甚至强迫人出钱支持他自己所相信的教派中这个或那个传教士，也是在剥削个人随心所欲的自由，使他不能把他的捐助赠予他所乐意赠予的牧师，而正是这位牧师的道德可以作为他的榜样，这位牧师的能力最足以说服他从事善行。同时这也是剥夺了牧师们应从世间得到的酬报，而这些由于他们个人的行为受到尊敬而获得的酬报，正足以鼓励他们认真地和孜孜不倦地向世人传教。
我们的公民权利并不有赖于我们在宗教上的见解，正如它不依赖我们在物理学或者几何学上的见解一样。因此，如若我们规定，一个公民，除非他声明皈依或者放弃这个或那个宗教见解，否则就不许接受责任重大和有报酬的职位，因而不值得大众的信赖，这实在是有害地剥夺了他的特权和利益。而他对于这些特权和利益，正和他的同胞们一样，是享有天赋权利的。
有些人在表面上皈依一种宗教，并且也能依照它的规律而生活；但是，如果我们给予他们独占权，使他们享受世界上其他人所不能享受的荣誉和报酬，那实在就是一种贿赂；而这种贿赂不但不能促使这个宗教的真义得到发展，反而使之趋于腐蚀。这些不能抵抗诱惑的人，固然都是罪人；但是，那些在这些人的路途上安放钓饵的人们，也不能算是清白无罪。
如若我们允许政府官吏把他们的权力伸张到信仰的领域里面，容他们假定某些宗教的真义有坏倾向，因而限制人们皈依或传布它，那将是一个非常危险的错误做法，它会马上断送全部宗教自由。因为在判断这些宗教的倾向时，当然是这个官吏作主；他会拿他个人的见解，作为判断的准绳，对于别人的思想，只看是否和他自己的思想相同或不同，而予以赞许或斥责。
一个政府要实现它的合理意旨，总是有充分时间的，当理论转化为公然行动，妨害和平及正常秩序时，官员们总是来得及干涉的。
最后，真理是伟大的，只要听其自行发展，它自然会得到胜利。真理是谬误的适当而有力的对手，在它们的斗争中，真理是无所畏惧的，它只怕人类加以干扰，解除它天赋的武器，取消自由的引证和自由的辩论。
一切谬误，只要到了大家可以自由反驳的时候，就不危险了。
二、大会兹颁布，任何人都不得被迫参加或支持任何宗教礼拜、宗教场所或传道职位。任何人，不得由于其宗教见解或信仰，在肉体上或者财产上受到强制、拘束、干扰、负担或其他损害。任何人都应该有自由去宣讲并进行辩论以维护他在宗教问题上的见解，而这种行为，在任何情形下，均不得削弱、扩大或影响其公民权力。
三、虽然我们都很清楚地知道，我们这个大会，只是人民为了立法上的一般目的而选举成立的，我们没有权力限制以后的大会的法令，因为它们是具有和我们同样的权力的；所以，如若我们此时声明这个法令永远不得推翻，这是没有任何法律上的效力的。
但是，我们还是有自由声明，同时必须声明，我们在这里所主张的权利，都是人类的天赋权利；如若以后通过任何法令，要把我们现在这个法令取消，或者把它的实施范围缩小，这样的法令，将是对天赋权利的侵犯。
* 译文选自《美国历史文献选集》，美国驻华大使馆新闻文化处，1985年。
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Text of statute[wiki]
An act for establishing religious Freedom.
Whereas, Almighty God hath created the mind free;
That all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens, or by civil incapacitations tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and therefore are a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, who being Lord, both of body and mind yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, as was in his Almighty power to do,
That the impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired men have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavouring to impose them on others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world and through all time;
That to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions, which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical;
That even the forcing him to support this or that teacher of his own religious persuasion is depriving him of the comfortable liberty of giving his contributions to the particular pastor, whose morals he would make his pattern, and whose powers he feels most persuasive to righteousness, and is withdrawing from the Ministry those temporary rewards, which, proceeding from an approbation of their personal conduct are an additional incitement to earnest and unremitting labours for the instruction of mankind;
That our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions any more than our opinions in physics or geometry,
That therefore the proscribing any citizen as unworthy the public confidence, by laying upon him an incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolument, unless he profess or renounce this or that religious opinion, is depriving him injuriously of those privileges and advantages, to which, in common with his fellow citizens, he has a natural right,
That it tends only to corrupt the principles of that very Religion it is meant to encourage, by bribing with a monopoly of worldly honours and emoluments those who will externally profess and conform to it;
That though indeed, these are criminal who do not withstand such temptation, yet neither are those innocent who lay the bait in their way;
That to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion and to restrain the profession or propagation of principles on supposition of their ill tendency is a dangerous fallacy which at once destroys all religious liberty because he being of course judge of that tendency will make his opinions the rule of judgment and approve or condemn the sentiments of others only as they shall square with or differ from his own;
That it is time enough for the rightful purposes of civil government, for its officers to interfere when principles break out into overt acts against peace and good order;
And finally, that Truth is great, and will prevail if left to herself, that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them:
Be it enacted by General Assembly that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of Religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities. And though we well know that this Assembly elected by the people for the ordinary purposes of Legislation only, have no power to restrain the acts of succeeding Assemblies constituted with powers equal to our own, and that therefore to declare this act irrevocable would be of no effect in law; yet we are free to declare, and do declare that the rights hereby asserted, are of the natural rights of mankind, and that if any act shall be hereafter passed to repeal the present or to narrow its operation, such act will be an infringement of natural right.[10]
