In Colonial Virginia, the established Anglican Church ran into the same problems of Colonial North Carolina. The distances between Parishes made it impossible to enforce Church attendance and collect tithes. There were few trained Clergy in Colonial Virginia to maintain a Church. Often there was one clergyman assigned to several parishes. When the Colonial Virginia legislature tried to impose a tax to support Christian teachers, James Madison passionately oppose the proposed bill in his speech Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessment, addressed to  the Virginia legislature 1785. "We maintain that in matters of religion, no man's right is abridged by the institution of civil society.

Suggesting Reading

Thomas Jefferson on religion

 Colonial America

Voices from Colonial America: Virginia 1607-1776: 1607 - 1776

Colonial America: A History, 1565 - 1776