1st Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Freedom of Religion: The first part of the First Amendment addresses religion. The frame of reference of the Founding Fathers was Europe, and more specifically, England. In England the Church of England greatly influenced the centralized governmental system, and the politicians greatly influenced The Church. There was no separation between powers of the king and the church, it seemed. The problem, the Founding Fathers reasoned, was the establishment of a State Church. Therefore, to protect the governmental system from the influence of religion, the founders determined that the federal government could not establish a state religion. The second part of that clause, however, was also specifically designed to protect the church from the government by instructing government to not prohibit the free exercise of religion. Freedom of religion was a big deal with the Americans. Even the textbooks in the public school system reveals that the Pilgrims first came to The New World in search of religious freedom. However, in todays society, there exists the belief in a concept known as The Separation of Church and State. The concept has determined that the church is somehow the enemy, and that any mention of God in the same breath with the federal government is a no-no. To understand the error of the concept of Separation of Church and State in todays society, we must go back and discover the origination of the idea. To understand the truth, we must recognize the writings of the founders, as well as grasp the history of the colonies. One of the best ways to do this is to carefully read the writings of the Founding Fathers, including the series of letters between the federal government and the Danbury Baptists of Connecticut, culminating in the letters to Thomas Jefferson after he became President of the United States in 1800. Each of the colonies, understand, began as a collection of like-minded religious folk that wanted freedom for their religion (not necessarily freedom of all religions). In Jamestown, in 1610, Dales Law mandated the Jamestown colonists to attend Anglican worship. The law went so far as to have provisions against criticism against the church. Violation of Dales Law could even lead to death. The Puritan Colonies to the north had similar laws, even setting up their governments in accordance with Puritan Law. Connecticut was one of those Puritan Colonies, and in 1639 the colony enacted The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut. The law set Connecticut up as a theocracy, disallowing non-Puritans from holding office. The government was the church, and the church was the government. Understand, this practice of religious preference was not limited to Connecticut. All of the States enforced established religions, except Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Though Pennsylvania was largely a Quaker state, William Penn believed that religion should be free from state control, so Pennsylvania did not persecute non-Quakers. However, in Pennsylvania, in order to hold office, you had to be a Christian. Rhode Island, founded in 1636, was based on the principle of religious liberty, and took in folks who were trying to escape the religious persecution of the other colonies. Back to Connecticut, in the Puritan dominated landscape, there was a group of Baptists in Danbury, Connecticut who were tired of being treated like second class citizens. Thomas Jefferson drafted the Virginia Act For Establishing Religious Freedom in Virginia, and with James Madisons assistance, finally got it enacted into law in 1786. So after many letters to President Adams that resulted in no assistance, the Danbury Baptists were excited about Jefferson winning the presidential election in 1800. Finally, they would have someone in office that would help them in their plight for religious freedoms in Connecticut. The Danbury Baptists wrote to Jefferson to congratulate him for his win, and to appeal to him for help. Thomas Jefferson responded with a letter that carries the line, a wall of separation between church and state, which has become the source from which the infamous concept of Separation of Church and State was eventually derived from. The Founding Fathers desired that Americans be free to worship as they wished, without being compelled by government through an established religion. The key, however, is that they not only did not want the federal government compelling a person through laws regarding religion, but that the government shall not “prohibit the free exercise thereof.” Thomas Jefferson, as indicated in his letter to the Danbury Baptists, and his other writings, was against the government establishing a “State Church.” However, he also believed that men should be free to exercise their religion as they deem fit, and not be forced to follow a government mandate that may prohibit religion. The Danbury Baptists were concerned over local religious freedoms, but Jefferson was clear, the federal government could not mandate anything in regards to religion. It is a State issue, and the Danbury Baptists needed to address the issue themselves. Jefferson’s reference to a wall of separation was an explanation that the federal government cannot prohibit the free exercise of religion for any reason, including on public grounds, but if a state was to prohibit the free exercise of religion, or establish a state church, it was an issue that must be resolved at the state level. By Douglas V. Gibbs
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 09:49:44 +0000
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