... =Forasmuch= as in a well governed and Christian Common Wealth,
matters concerning Religion and the honor of God ought in the first
place to bee taken into serious consederacion ... Be it therefore
ordered and enacted by the Right Honorable Cecilius Lord Baron of
Baltemore, absolute Lord and Proprietary of this Province, with the
advise and consent of this Generall Assembly: That whatsoever person
or persons within this Province and the Islands thereunto belonging
shall from henceforth blaspheme God,--that is, Curse him,--or deny our
Saviour Jesus Christ to bee the sonne of God, or shall deny the holy
Trinity, the ffather sonne and holy Ghost, or the Godhead of any of
the said Three persons of the Trinity, or the Unity of the Godhead,
or shall use ... any reproachfull Speeches, ... concerning the said
Holy Trinity, or any of the three persons thereof, _shall be punished
with death and confiscation of all his or her lands and goods_ ... And
be it also Enacted ... That whatsoever person or persons shall from
henceforth use ... any reproaching words or speeches concerning the
blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of our Saviour, or the Holy Apostles
or Evangelists ... shall in such case for the first offence
forfeit ... the summe of ffive pound sterling ... but in case such
Offender or Offenders shall not then have goods and chattells
sufficient for the satisfyeing of such forfeiture, or that the same bee
not otherwise speedily satisfyed, that then such Offender or Offenders
shalbe publiquely whipt and bee ymprisoned during the pleasure of the
Lord Proprietary or ... chiefe Governor of this Province for the time
being. And that every such Offender or Offenders for every second
offence shall forfeit tenne pound sterling or the value thereof to bee
levyed as aforesaid, or in case such offender or Offenders shall not
then have goods and chattells within this Province sufficient for that
purpose then to bee publiquely and severely whipt and imprisoned as
before is expressed. And that every person or persons before mentioned
offending herein the third time, shall for such third Offence forfeit
all his lands and Goods and bee for ever banished and expelled out
of this Province. And be it also further Enacted ... that whatsoever
person or persons shall from henceforth uppon any occasion of Offence
or otherwise in a reproachful manner or Way declare call or denominate
any person or persons whatsoever ... an heritick, Scismatick, Idolator,
puritan, Independant, Prespiterian, popish prest, Jesuite, Jesuited
papist, Lutheran, Calvenist, Anabaptist, Brownist, Antinomian,
Barrowist, Round-head, Seperatist, or any other name or terme in a
reproachfull manner relating to matter of Religion shall for every such
Offence forfeit and loose the some or [of] tenne shillings sterling or
the value thereof, to bee levyed on the goods and chattells of every
such Offender and Offenders, the one half thereof to be forfeited and
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