[256][257] Others maintain that Madison accepted Christian tenets and formed his outlook on life with a Christian world view.[258] Regardless of his own religious beliefs, Madison believed in religious liberty, and he advocated for Virginia's disestablishment of religious institutions sponsored by the state.[259] He also opposed the appointments of chaplains for Congress and the armed forces, arguing that the appointments produce religious exclusion as well as political disharmony.[260][261]

Slavery
Main article: James Madison and slavery The neutrality of this section is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met.  (January 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Madison grew up on a plantation that made use of slave labor and was also a slaveholder himself, inheriting over a hundred slaves.[262] Nevertheless, he called slavery "the most oppressive dominion" that ever existed,[263] and had a "lifelong abhorrence" for it.[264] In 1785 Madison spoke in the Virginia Assembly favoring a bill that Thomas Jefferson had proposed for the gradual abolition of slavery, and he also helped defeat a bill designed to outlaw the manumission of individual slaves.