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A final factor that contributed to the attitudinal shift involved the legal community. Many judges of the antebellum period shared the emerging evangelical perspective. These judges enforced laws prohibiting blasphemy and Sunday activities based on religious grounds while declaring that ‘Christianity formed part of the common law.’ This belief in the Christian nature of America affected interpretations of constitutional provisions as well. In 1824

the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected a claim that blasphemy laws violated the religious liberty provisions of the state constitution. While declaring that ‘complete liberty of conscience’ existed in the state