(December 18, 1787), was the 3rd State admitted to the Union. The Constitution of the State of New Jersey, adopted 1776, stated:
Article XVIII. That no person shall ever, within this Colony, be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshipping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience;
That there shall be no establishment of any one religious sect in this Province, in preference to another; and that no Protestant inhabitant of this Colony shall be denied the enjoyment of any civil right, merely on account of his religious principles;
That all persons, professing a belief in the faith of any Protestant sect, and who should demean himself peaceably under the government, should be capable of being elected unto any office of profit or trust, or of being a member of either branch of the Legislature.1909
On February 15, 1804, the legislature of the State of New Jersey passed an Act which abolished slavery within the State.1910 The Constitution of the State of New Jersey, adopted 1844 and 1947, stated:
Preamble. We, the people of the State of New Jersey, grateful to Almighty God for the civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing upon our endeavors to secure and transmit the same unimpaired to succeeding generations, do ordain and establish this Constitution.1911
Article I, Section 3. No person shall be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshipping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience.1912