Separation of Church and State

The Separation of Church and State has become the new battleground of the 'holier than thou' Christian Neo-con Right. The focal point of their new strategy is to point out that the concept of "Separation of Church and State" by exact wording, does not appear anywhere in the Constitution as such. And they are indeed correct, but neither does '"Freedom of Religion.".

That the First Amendment applies to both. tenets is clearly 'implied' without the exactitude of specific inclusion. We can only imagine that the Founding Fathers did not choose specific wording because they thought the implication would be obvious to all. What they didn't take into account was the mindset of the radical Christian faction.

The long engaged attempt to wrap the founding of America in the robes of Christianity appeared to have started with the influential book by Mason Weems "Life of Washington." It was this book about the father of our country, George Washington, from which the cherished but mythical story of the cherry tree originated. Weems, a Christian minister, portrayed Washington as a devout Christian. Yet Washington's own diaries clearly indicate that he rarely attended church.

To the United Baptist Churches in Virginia in May 1789, Washington said, …“every man ought to be protected in worshipping the deity according to the dictates of his own conscience."

Viewpoints of the Constitutionalists

What is most irksome in recent times is the organized actions of the religiously pious, supposedly patriotic individuals who seek to pull the wool over the eyes of the American people, by purporting to know what was in the minds of the Founders of the Republic at the Constitutional Convention, as they crafted the most miraculous document in the formation of any nation in human history.

In his, "A Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America" [1787-1788] John Adams wrote:

"The United States of America have exhibited, perhaps, the first example of governments erected on the simple principles of nature; and if men are now sufficiently enlightened to disabuse themselves of artifice, imposture, hypocrisy and superstition, they will consider the event as an era in their history. ...Although the detail of the formation of the American governments is at present little known or regarded in either Europe or in America, it may hereafter become an object of curiosity. It will never be pretended that any persons employed in that service had interviews with the gods, or were in any degree under the influence of Heaven, more than those at work on ships and houses, or laboring in merchandise or agriculture; it will forever be acknowledged that these governments were contrived merely by the use of reason and the senses."

He further went on to write:

"...Thirteen governments [of the original states] thus founded on the natural authority of the people alone, without pretence of miracle or mystery, and which are destined to spread over the northern part of that whole quarter of the globe, are a great point gained in favor of the rights of mankind."

John Adams was Unitarian by choice, but he flatly denied the doctrine of eternal damnation or anything that smacked of it. In a letter to Thomas Jefferson he wrote:

"I almost shudder at the thought of alluding to the most fatal example of the abuses of grief which the history of mankind has preserved - the Cross. Consider what calamities that engine of grief has produced."

There are also personal letters and documents in the Constitution archives written by many of the Founding fathers, which, quite explicitly, reveal their most intimate thoughts and mind-set.

In a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association dated January 1, 1802, Thomas Jefferson wrote:

"I contemplate with sovereign reverence that the act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof’, thus building a wall of [separation between church and state.]"

To further this outlook a perfect case in point is the well-established viewpoint on religion, and Christianity in particular, professed in writing by none other than James Madison, the man considered by many historians to be the father of the Constitution.

Madison, perhaps the greatest supporter for separation of church and state, expressed in his letter to Edward Livingston, on July 10, 1822 the following:

"And I have no doubt that every new example will succeed, as every past one has done, in shewing that religion & Govt will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together."

Madison had no conventional sense of Christianity as was made patently clear in 1785, when he wrote the following statements in a paper entitled "Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments":

"During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trail. What have been its fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution."

Madison concluded with the following:

"What influence, in fact, have ecclesiastical establishments had on society? In some instances they have been seen to erect a spiritual tyranny on the ruins of the civil authority; on many instances they have been seen upholding the thrones of political tyranny; in no instance have they been the guardians of the liberties of the people. Rulers who wish to subvert the public liberty may have found an established clergy convenient auxiliaries. A just government, instituted to secure and perpetuate it, needs them not."

Thomas Paine, a freethinker and author of several books, influenced more early Americans than any other writer. And although he held Deist beliefs, he wrote in his famous tome, "The Age of Reason":

"...Of all the systems of religion that ever were invented, there is no more derogatory to the Almighty, more unedifiying to man, more repugnant to reason, and more contradictory to itself than this thing called Christianity."

Not withstanding, there were those of a Christian persuasion who very much wished a connection between church and state. On in particular was Patrick Henry who proposed a tax to help sustain "...some form of Christian worship for the state of Virginia." However, Thomas Jefferson and other early statesmen did not agree, and in 1779 Jefferson introduced a bill for the Statute of Religious Freedom, which became Virginia law. Jefferson designed this law to completely separate religion from government, and none of Henry's Christian views ever got introduced into Virginia's or U.S. Government law.

Finally, we come to Benjamin Franklin, who received vigorous religious training and instruction during his youth, but his nature forced him to rebel against the irrational tenets of his parents Christianity. His autobiography reveals his skepticism,

“My parents had given me betimes religious impressions, and I received from my infancy a pious education in the principles of Calvinism.  But scarcely was I arrived at fifteen years of age, when, after having doubted in turn different tenets according as I found them combated in the different books that I read, I began to doubt of Revelation itself.”

Franklin also wrote the following:

Some books against Deism fell into my hands…It happened that they wrought an affect on my mind quite contrary to what was intended by them; for the arguments of the Deists, which were quoted to be refuted, appeared to me much stronger than the reformations; in short, I soon became a thorough Deist.”

Franklin was openly critical of Christianity and its motives, and this point was made quite clear in an essay he wrote entitled “Toleration”:

“If we look back into history for the character of the present sects in Christianity, we shall find few that have not in their turns been persecutors, and complainers of persecution.”

In fact Franklin expressed his displeasure with Christianity so often, it prompted an intimate friend, Dr. Joseph Priestly (1733-1804), to write of him in his autobiography,

“It is much to be lamented that a man of Franklin’s general good character and great influence should have been an unbeliever in Christianity, and also have done so much as he did to make others unbelievers.”

[For those who may not be familiar with the term “Deism”, it refers to individuals who consider themselves Deists as descriptive of the manner in which they conceive of an Almighty being. It is a system of philosophical thinking that advocates a 'natural' religion, driven by reason rather than revelation, with greater emphasis on morality as its motivating force. They also reject recognition of any interference of a Creator with the laws of the universe]

The Genesis of Early American Common Law

The Constitution's 7th Amendment reads: "It suits at common law.... the right of trial by jury shall be preserved...", and herein is born the misconception as to American Common Laws and, its erroneous use as proof of a legitimate Constitutional connection between church and state.

Many Christians believe that common law came from Christian foundations and, therefore, the Constitution derives from it. They continually use various quotes from Supreme Court Justices proclaiming that Christianity came as part of the laws of England, and therefore from its common law heritage.

It was Thomas Jefferson who long ago cleared up the murky distinction that many religious activists refuse to accept. In a letter to Thomas Cooper on February 10, 1814 he wrote:

"For we know that the common law is that system of law which was introduced by the Saxons on their settlement in England, and altered from time to time by proper legislative authority from that time to the date of the Magna Carta, which terminates the period of the common law.....This settlement took place about the middle of the fifth century. But Christianity was not introduced until the seventh century; the conversion of the first Christian king of the Heptarchy having taken place about the year 598, and that of the last about 686. Here then, was a space of two hundred years, during which the common law was in existence, and Christianity no part of it."

The Declaration of Independence

In the Supreme Court’s 1892 Holy Trinity Church vs. United States, Justice David Brewer wrote, “this is a Christian nation,” an utterance which led many Christians to erroneously employ this statement as evidence of an established link between church and state, However, upon reflection, Brewer wrote this in dicta, "As a personal opinion only and does not serve as a legal pronouncement."

Later, Brewer felt obliged to explain himself further:

"But in what sense can [the United States] be called a "Christian nation?" Not in the sense that Christianity is the established religion or the people compelled in any manner to support it. On the contrary, the Constitution specifically provides that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Neither is it Christian in a sense that all its citizens are either in fact or in name Christians. On the Contrary, all religions have free scope within its borders. Numbers of our people profess other religions, and many reject all."

The Treaty of Tripoli as Proof Positive

There can be no more finite example of the affirmation of the separation of church and state, as was interpreted by those who governed in those early years of our country, than the specific wording of Article Xl of the Treaty of Tripoli:

"[As the Government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion]; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Musselmen; and as the said States never have entered into any war of act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries."

So by concise admission in writing, we have documented proof that our American government did not in any way shape or form found itself upon Christianity.

Unlike the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Tripoli represented U.S. law as all treaties do according to the Constitution (reference Article Vl, sect.2). And although the Christian exclusionary wording in the treaty was limited to eight years before the cessation of its legal status, without doubt it clearly represented the feelings of our Founding Fathers at the beginning of the U.S. government.

Enlightenment and the Constitutionalists

Somewhere between mysticism and superstition lies the "Twilight Zone" we all refer to as Religion. And it is not to far a reach to imagine that it all started at the dawn of human conscientiousness when early humans sought protection from the two natural events they could not understand, control nor hide from: the dark of night and death. Or better yet, to quote the philosopher Voltaire, "God created man and man returned the compliment.”

As referenced from another learned angle the overall rejection by the Constitutionalist of the insertion of religion, in any form, in the Constitution, Thomas Jefferson wrote in his autobiography in reference to the Virginia Act for Religious Freedom:

"Where the preamble declares, that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed by inserting "Jesus Christ," so that it would read "A departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion;" the insertion was rejected by the great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew, the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohammededan, the Hindoo (his spelling) and the Infidel of every denomination."

  Today, powerful and well-organized Christian forces that are hard at work spreading historical myths about the involvement of Christianity in the minds of the Founding Fathers. It is their dedication to bring about a Christian theocracy to the government of the United States.  Fortunately, most open-minded Christians agree with the principles of Separation of Church and State, as did the founding fathers in early America

 "They all attributed the peaceful dominion of religion in their country mainly to the separation of church and state. I do not hesitate to affirm that during my stay in America I did not meet a single individual, of the clergy or the laity, who was not of the same opinion on this point."

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859), "Democracy in America" - 1835

Common Misunderstandings and Deliberate Edits to History

It is unfortunate for our historical understanding of the relationship between religion and the state in early America, that later developments have clouded the true picture of events.  The original Pledge of Allegiance, authored by Francis Bellamy in 1892, did not contain the words “under God.” It was not until June of 1954 that those words were inserted. Nor was the wording “in God we trust” printed on United States currency until after the Civil War. And many Christians, who visit the historical monuments and see the word “God” inscribed in stone, tend to automatically impart their own personal God of Christianity, without understanding the Constitutional Framers Deist context.

The American Right to Believe or to Not Believe

That is not to say my outlook is Atheistic, for it is not - it is Agnostic; and when presented with adequate proof I am open to acceptance of the existence of a supreme supernatural being. However, by simultaneously keeping an open mind, I can share mutual moralities with my believing brethren; for I find no vigorous disagreement or cause for debate with the basic tenets of the Ten Commandments.

The popular myth of a United States constructed upon a religious foundation, on close examination, turns out to be more wishful Christian projection than actual fact. For the idea bears little resemblance to practice or intent by the Founders of the Constitution, and well-documented historical proof exists to substantiate that claim.

Therefore, it is my feeling that when I as American citizen am requested to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, I should be allowed to do so with one stipulation. Since Congress saw fit to force the inclusion “under God” into the pledge, I respectfully urge an additional inclusion be added to encompass other religious or non-religious persuasions. It would read -  “under God with Free Conscience.”

Some of the Credits and References for this Editorial

(Note: quotation spellings left as found in the original documents)

Original Reference Article by Jim Walker – The Early American Review, Summer 1997

“The Diaries of George Washington, 1748-1799,” Houghton Mifflin Company 1925

Miler, Hunter, ed., “Treaties and other International Acts of the United States of America,” Vol. 2 1776-1818, United States Government Printing Office, 1931

“The American Enlightenment: The Shaping of the American Experiment and a Free Society” New York: George Braziller 1965

Seldes, George "The Great Quotations" Pocket Books 1967

Middlekauff, Robert “The Glorious Cause” Oxford University Press, 1982

Peterson, Merrill D., "Thomas Jefferson Writings," The Library of America, 1984

Mapp, Jr, Alf J. "Thomas Jefferson," Madison Books 1987

Robinson, John J., "Born in Blood," M. Evans & Company, New York

Gay, Kathlyn, "Church and State" The Millbrook Press 1992

Encyclopedia Sources

Common Law; Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol 6 William Benton publisher 1969

Declaration of Independence: MicroSoft Encarta 1996clclopedia, MicroSoft Corp., Funk & Wagnalls Corp.

Pledge of Allegiance: Academic American Encyclopedia, Vol.15, Grolier Inc, Danbury Ct, 1988

In God We Trust: Microsoft Encarta 1996 Encyclopedia Microsoft Corp., Funk & Wagnalls Corp.