In 1780, the state of Massachusetts ratified its constitution with article two maintaining religious liberty for citizens, and article three providing for a specific Protestant establishment. Together, both articles underscored a symbiosis between individual autonomy and the promotion of civic virtue. This study seeks to examine that constitutional synthesis and ascertain how successful it was from the period of its implementation, in 1780, up until the time of disestablishment in 1833. Did Massachusetts truly want unrestrained religious liberty? Did citizens believe public virtue derived from religion? This thesis will seek to answer such fundamental questions as they became part and parcel in the development of the state's governing document. This study ultimately argues that articles two and three of the Massachusetts Constitution were not successful, both in theory and practice. Drawing upon the legislative and judicial development of this period, this study concludes that the many lawsuits, revisions, concessions, and haphazard rulings all point to an incongruous and ineffective legal experiment that was articles two and three of the Massachusetts Constitution.