The Gloucester Museum of History will host a special program at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 16, an interactive living history performance of the 1773 Baptist Preacher Trial. The program will be held at Gloucester Library, Main Street Center.

This same program was held in May in the colonial courthouse.

Those taking part will be transported back in time to experience the trial that led Americans on the path towards religious freedom.

In 1773, a minister had to obtain an official license from British Crown authorities to preach in public. Archibald Cary, the magistrate of Chesterfield County, arrested individuals who openly broke this law. Citizens across the countryside began to question the Crown’s authority to regulate religious teachings.

Do British authorities have the right to tell someone how they may practice their religious beliefs? Must an individual pay taxes in support of a church that they do not belong to?

These are just a few of the questions that will b...