American presidents have played a major role in fostering religious liberty at home and abroad. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison strongly supported the separation of church and state and freedom of worship. Washington used his enormous influence as both commander in chief and president to promote freedom of worship and to improve relations among America’s various religious bodies. Through his words and actions, he helped ensure that liberty of conscience prevailed in the United States.
Jefferson and Madison led efforts to establish religious liberty in Virginia and frame the First Amendment. Madison’s “Memorial and Remonstrance” expressed their shared conviction that denying equal exercise of religious freedom to all citizens offended God. As president, both Jefferson and Madison worked to help religious liberty flourish in the new nation.
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