The correct answer is new supporting evidence.
Though religious toleration was becoming even more popular in the colonies, there was still lots of discrimination and unequal representation. This oppression of certain religions, especially Jews, was a certain mirror to slavery.
The tradition of an anti-Catholicism America was deeply degraded by the War of Independence. With the Second Continental Congress granting safety to those living in Quebec who joined in the struggle against the British, religious tolerance, and the alliance with a predominantly Catholic French nation, Catholicism gained some ground.
Jefferson drafted up a Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom in 1779. This bill eliminated religious requirements for voting, stopped government funding of churches, and barred the state from "forcing" people to adopt a certain religion.
A sharp line was drawn between public authority and the realm defined as "private," only reinforcing the notion that rights exist as restraints on the power of government. The effort of religious freedom gave an impetus for the influence of religion in America. Religious freedom came to be another justification as to why the United States was a beacon of liberty.
