Aha, I had a feeling there was something off about this statement!

https://virginiahistory.org/learn/thomas-jefferson-and-virginia-statute-religious-freedom

And if you compare the text to the original, it's nearly identical save the very very long philosophical preamble: https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/historic-document-library/detail/thomas-jefferson-a-bill-for-establishing-religious-freedom

So it did pass, just in 1786, not 1779.

This is a good example of why I don't trust the History Channel.