Show me where in the Constitution it says, "separation of church and state."
Thomas Jefferson wrote about a "wall of separation between church and State" in his letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802, some 15 years after the Constitution was written, in response to their concerns that freedom of religion might be construed as "alienable" rather than "inalienable". But it wasn't until 1947, in the Supreme Court case Everson v. Board of Education, that this concept became law ("The First Amendment has erected a wall between church and state. That wall must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the slightest breach.")
Here's what the Constitution actually says (in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights):
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
Does "establishment of religion" mean that there will be no state-sponsored religion (like the Church of England), or that no religious denomination will enjoy any preference over another?
Wikipedia does a pretty good job of laying out the various arguments concerning the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
On this Constitution Day, we need to remember that the Founding Fathers didn't make it quite as "simple" as Pundit Kitchen seems to think.
CT- I believe "establishment of religion" means there will be no state-sponsored religion AND no religion or religious denomination will enjoy any preference over another. Are you against the simple concept of separation of church and state?
Not at all. I'm merely pointing out that the Framers of the Constitution never "agreed" to the phrase "separation of church and state" as your post seems to imply.
If you think that's a difference without a distinction, consider this: Several years ago, a local attorney here in Amarillo (who shall remain nameless, because like me, he grew up in the Mohawk Valley of Upstate New York, and I don't want any guilt by association) appeared on a local Christian radio station and was asked by the host (an ordained minister), "Do you believe in the separation of church and state?"
"Yes sir," said the attorney. "It's right there in the Constitution!"
The pastor calmly said, "No, it's not," to which the attorney applied, "Well, uh, yes that's true but..."
Pretty sad when a man of the cloth knows more about the Constitution than a licensed attorney.
All I'm saying is that on Constitution Day, we shouldn't put words in the Framers' mouths. September 17 is a good day to actually read what the First Amendment says. And that goes for the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and especially the Tenth Amendment, too.
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From the brilliant site Pundit Kitchen.
Show me where in the Constitution it says, "separation of church and state."
ReplyDeleteThomas Jefferson wrote about a "wall of separation between church and State" in his letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802, some 15 years after the Constitution was written, in response to their concerns that freedom of religion might be construed as "alienable" rather than "inalienable". But it wasn't until 1947, in the Supreme Court case Everson v. Board of Education, that this concept became law ("The First Amendment has erected a wall between church and state. That wall must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the slightest breach.")
Here's what the Constitution actually says (in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights):
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
Does "establishment of religion" mean that there will be no state-sponsored religion (like the Church of England), or that no religious denomination will enjoy any preference over another?
Wikipedia does a pretty good job of laying out the various arguments concerning the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
On this Constitution Day, we need to remember that the Founding Fathers didn't make it quite as "simple" as Pundit Kitchen seems to think.
CT-
ReplyDeleteI believe "establishment of religion" means there will be no state-sponsored religion AND no religion or religious denomination will enjoy any preference over another.
Are you against the simple concept of separation of church and state?
Not at all. I'm merely pointing out that the Framers of the Constitution never "agreed" to the phrase "separation of church and state" as your post seems to imply.
ReplyDeleteIf you think that's a difference without a distinction, consider this: Several years ago, a local attorney here in Amarillo (who shall remain nameless, because like me, he grew up in the Mohawk Valley of Upstate New York, and I don't want any guilt by association) appeared on a local Christian radio station and was asked by the host (an ordained minister), "Do you believe in the separation of church and state?"
"Yes sir," said the attorney. "It's right there in the Constitution!"
The pastor calmly said, "No, it's not," to which the attorney applied, "Well, uh, yes that's true but..."
Pretty sad when a man of the cloth knows more about the Constitution than a licensed attorney.
All I'm saying is that on Constitution Day, we shouldn't put words in the Framers' mouths. September 17 is a good day to actually read what the First Amendment says. And that goes for the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and especially the Tenth Amendment, too.