Separation of Church and State?

Separation of Church and State?

Religion and government have been in the news a lot lately. Two recent court rulings have had a bearing on the relationship between “church and state.” One gave approval to the use of vouchers for use in private schools, but the other declared the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional. The term “separation of church and state” is often quoted as though it was a constitutional mandate, even though it appears nowhere in the Constitution.

This edition of our bulletin will be primarily a series of quotes from our early “founding fathers” giving their view of the relationship that should sustain between religion and government. They reveal that the concept of separating the religion of the people from their everyday life was not in their original intent for the Constitution. The first is a direct quote from First Amendment itself: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

John Quincy Adams: “The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it tied together in one indissoluble bond the principle of civil government with the principle of Christianity.”

Patrick Henry: “It is impossible that a nation of infidels or idolaters should be a nation of free men. It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupt public conscience, are incompatible with freedom.”

George Washington: “The propitious smiles of heaven cannot be expected on a nation that disregards eternal rules of order and right, which heaven itself has ordained.”

Benjamin Franklin: “Mr. Chairman, if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without our Heavenly Father’s care, how can an empire rise without His aid? I call the convention to prayer” (stated during the Constitutional Convention just prior to the document being signed).

Edward Everett (on the occasion at which Lincoln made his Gettysburg Address) “All the disinctive features and superiority of our republican institutions are derived from the teachings of Scripture.”

George Washington: “It is the first duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God; to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and to humbly implore His protection and favor and Holy fear.”

Patrick Henry: “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions but on the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

These quotes indicate our nation’s leaders did not think our people needed to be protected from religion, but that religion needed to be protected from governmental intrusion. In the very limited sense used by men, America was intended to be a “Christian Nation.” Other facts that support this view will follow. Please note their significance in this issue.

Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence and called the Father of Public Schools, wrote in 1791, “A Defense of the Use of the Bible as a School Book.” He gave many reasons why we should never take the Bible out of our schools! He concluded: “If we were to remove the Bible from schools, I lament that we would be wasting so much time and money in punishing crimes and taking little pains to prevent them.”

Fisher Ames, author of the First Amendment, wrote an 1801 article entitled, “School Books,” saying: “...we must make sure the Bible retains its proper place of preeminence in the classroom, because when reverence for this book is not impressed early in a child’s life, it never truly takes hold of the mind!”

Does that sound as though the intent of our forebears was to establish a nation void of religion? Of course it does not.

More recently, Justice William Douglas wrote:
“The first amendment, however, does not say that in every and all respects there shall be a separation of church and state. We are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being. When the State encourages religious instruction or cooperates with religious authorities it follows the best of our traditions, for it then respects the religious nature of our people and accommodates the public service to their spiritual needs. We find no constitutional requirement which makes it necessary for government to be hostile to religion and to throw its weight against efforts to widen the effective scope of religious influence.”

None of us wants a “state church” as found in so many places in the world. We have no interest in having the churches go into schools to proselyte or instruct in their doctrine. Prayer is something no one can prevent in anyone who wants to pray, for it can be done regardless of oversight. But to suggest the Bible cannot be taught in our public schools because our Founding Fathers wanted a “wall of separation between church and state” is a fabrication; it stands in opposition to the facts of history, and, as seen in the last few days, it even goes against current thought.

Think on these matters and act accordingly
Carl B. Garner