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弗吉尼亞宗教自由法令傑弗遜

(2020-12-28 19:22:23) 下一個

傑弗遜一輩子引以自豪的就是他親自撰寫的墓碑上寫的三件事(總統職位都不算)：

“美國獨立宣言和弗吉尼亞宗教自由法案的作者，以及弗吉尼亞大學之父長眠於此”

讀到傑弗遜寫的獨立宣言和宗教自由文章，總是感到很震撼和感動、感激（自由人才會發自內心的感激！），感歎於他對整個人類的自由的珍視，和對人性的洞察。不深刻了解人性，怎麽能製定出好的法令呢？

這個法令的主體規定隻占了全文的十分之一，140多字；而法令（1470多字）的十分之九是用來解釋法令所依據的對人性的理解。讓人想到幾何題證明的風格。

反觀有些中國的人，當人們試圖富國強兵的時候，並沒有通過恢複人們的自由和靈性來實現，而是簡單地試圖把中國人民從一盤散沙變成一盤螺絲釘。繼續忽略人們的自由意誌、和靈性。人們不斷地拿物化的東西來比喻人的時候，就是不斷地誤導人的過程。一盤散沙，一盤螺絲釘，大老虎！小蒼蠅！原子集合，基因載體，特殊材料，馴服工具，破爛流丟一口鍾！可憐劉主席，也曾野心勃勃想把中國人都變幻成馴服工具，結果事敗把自己變到床上動彈不得。人們是被變成馴服工具了，但是這個工具被別人掌握後，開始摧毀你了。本以為穿的是“山河社稷襖、乾坤地理裙”，最後落得“破爛流丟一口鍾”裹身。如果人的靈性沒有被先行摧毀，應該是不至於如此殘酷地反過來迫害那些試圖操作他們的人吧。

為什麽不能簡單直接如實地把人當人看，然後順天行道呢？一個社會和國家真應該為了實現短期目標而讓人民放棄自己的靈性、自由嗎？

也許，美國就是上天派下來的一些神人在地球上建立的樣板，讓人們看到文明的方向何在。就像傑弗遜自己說的，製憲大會好像是一群半神的集會。( "An assembly of demigods.":)，讓人學習如何用清晰的理性和智慧來規劃社會組織和人的行為，讓人們在地球上自由地追求自己的幸福。

《弗吉尼亞宗教自由法令》之全文(1786年）

一、全能的上帝既然把人類的思想創造成自由的；所以任何企圖影響它的做法，無論是憑靠人世間的刑罰或壓迫，或用法律規定來加以限製，結果將隻是造成虛偽和卑鄙的習性，背離我們宗教的神聖創始者的旨意；他是軀體和精神的主宰，他無所不能，但是他並不強迫向我們的軀體和精神宣揚他的旨意：有些在世間的和教會中的立法者或統治者，他們本身不過是常有過失和沒有得到聖感的人，而竟然對上帝不敬，以為他們有權統治其他人的信仰，他們把自己的意見和想法，說成唯一的永無錯誤的真理，並強迫世人予以接受。這些人自古以來，在世界上大多數的地方所建立的和所維持的，隻是虛假的宗教而已。

強迫一個人捐錢，用以宣傳他所不相信的見解，這是罪惡和專橫的；甚至強迫人出錢支持他自己所相信的教派中這個或那個傳教士，也是在剝削個人隨心所欲的自由，使他不能把他的捐助贈予他所樂意贈予的牧師，而正是這位牧師的道德可以作為他的榜樣，這位牧師的能力最足以說服他從事善行。同時這也是剝奪了牧師們應從世間得到的酬報，而這些由於他們個人的行為受到尊敬而獲得的酬報，正足以鼓勵他們認真地和孜孜不倦地向世人傳教。

我們的公民權利並不有賴於我們在宗教上的見解，正如它不依賴我們在物理學或者幾何學上的見解一樣。因此，如若我們規定，一個公民，除非他聲明皈依或者放棄這個或那個宗教見解，否則就不許接受責任重大和有報酬的職位，因而不值得大眾的信賴，這實在是有害地剝奪了他的特權和利益。而他對於這些特權和利益，正和他的同胞們一樣，是享有天賦權利的。

有些人在表麵上皈依一種宗教，並且也能依照它的規律而生活；但是，如果我們給予他們獨占權，使他們享受世界上其他人所不能享受的榮譽和報酬，那實在就是一種賄賂；而這種賄賂不但不能促使這個宗教的真義得到發展，反而使之趨於腐蝕。這些不能抵抗誘惑的人，固然都是罪人；但是，那些在這些人的路途上安放釣餌的人們，也不能算是清白無罪。

如若我們允許政府官吏把他們的權力伸張到信仰的領域裏麵，容他們假定某些宗教的真義有壞傾向，因而限製人們皈依或傳布它，那將是一個非常危險的錯誤做法，它會馬上斷送全部宗教自由。因為在判斷這些宗教的傾向時，當然是這個官吏作主；他會拿他個人的見解，作為判斷的準繩，對於別人的思想，隻看是否和他自己的思想相同或不同，而予以讚許或斥責。

一個政府要實現它的合理意旨，總是有充分時間的，當理論轉化為公然行動，妨害和平及正常秩序時，官員們總是來得及幹涉的。

最後，真理是偉大的，隻要聽其自行發展，它自然會得到勝利。真理是謬誤的適當而有力的對手，在它們的鬥爭中，真理是無所畏懼的，它隻怕人類加以幹擾，解除它天賦的武器，取消自由的引證和自由的辯論。

一切謬誤，隻要到了大家可以自由反駁的時候，就不危險了。

二、大會茲頒布，任何人都不得被迫參加或支持任何宗教禮拜、宗教場所或傳道職位。任何人，不得由於其宗教見解或信仰，在肉體上或者財產上受到強製、拘束、幹擾、負擔或其他損害。任何人都應該有自由去宣講並進行辯論以維護他在宗教問題上的見解，而這種行為，在任何情形下，均不得削弱、擴大或影響其公民權力。

三、雖然我們都很清楚地知道，我們這個大會，隻是人民為了立法上的一般目的而選舉成立的，我們沒有權力限製以後的大會的法令，因為它們是具有和我們同樣的權力的；所以，如若我們此時聲明這個法令永遠不得推翻，這是沒有任何法律上的效力的。

但是，我們還是有自由聲明，同時必須聲明，我們在這裏所主張的權利，都是人類的天賦權利；如若以後通過任何法令，要把我們現在這個法令取消，或者把它的實施範圍縮小，這樣的法令，將是對天賦權利的侵犯。

* 譯文選自《美國曆史文獻選集》，美國駐華大使館新聞文化處，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]

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