The First Amendment - Government and Religion

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.

The men who laid the foundations upon which our great nation has been built, wrote down a basic set of laws for us. They called them the “Bill of Rights”. They are the basic rights that each citizen of the United States are guaranteed. They limit the power of government. Today I’m going to talk a little about the first part of the First Amendment.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

“Congress” is the Senate and the House of Representatives. The word “establish”, if you take a moment to look it up, is defined as “to set up or found” - “to bring about or generate” - “to install” - “to cause to be recognized or accepted” - “to introduce and put into force” - “to prove the validity of” - “to make a state institution of”.

What this sentence says is “The Senate and The House of Representatives will not make a law recognizing any religion as the official or valid state religion, and they don’t have the power to prevent anybody from practicing the religion of their choice”.

The Separation of Church and State is a Myth

James Madison

People seem to have taken this very simple sentence and tried to use it to further a variety of political agendas. If you read this, it is a very clear statement. You’ll notice that nowhere in there does it say that there is a separation between Government and Religion. It simply says Congress can’t make laws telling you what religion is the correct one.

The First Amendment doesn’t say the people of Georgia can’t display the ten commandments outside a county courthouse. If Congress passed a law saying the ten commandments were required to be displayed in front of that courthouse, that would be a violation of the First Amendment.

The First Amendment doesn’t say children are not allowed to pray in government funded schools. If Congress passed a law requiring children to pray, that would be a violation of the First Amendment.

The founding fathers were very religious men. Have you ever wondered where the idea for three branches of government came from? James Madison formed the idea from Isaiah 33:22 - For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king: he will save us. The idea that the First Amendment calls for a separation between Church and State, is laughable. Again, it just says the Congress can’t establish a national religion, and it can’t prevent you from choosing and practicing your own religion.

In Conclusion

I have to tell you that I (Andrew - not Duane) am not a religious person. I think of myself as an Agnostic Buddhist. I believe in a literal interpretation of the Constitution, because I believe that’s the way it was written. It is important that we don’t have a national religion. Anybody who thinks a national religion is a good idea should go spend some time in Saudi Arabia and best of luck to them.

While I firmly believe we shouldn’t have a national religion, I also believe there is a place for religion in our lives. We Americans are a pretty religious people. Putting the ten commandments outside a county courthouse isn’t harming anybody. Letting a kid say a prayer before he eats his lunch isn’t going to hurt me, or you, or anybody.

It’s time we took the First Amendment for what it is and stop trying to use it for political gain.

It’s Constitution Day, so I’m opening up comments for this post. Feel free to share your thoughts on this subject.