posted on Jul, 10 2014 @ 10:45 AM
Origins of Separation of Church and State
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.
~First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America
The phrase “separation of church and state” does not appear in the first
amendment, nor does it appear in any of the foundational documents in
American history. The actual phrase is widely used, and incorrectly, by
those who would push for the abolition of any religious practices within
any
body of government.
We do not
want in America what we had in Great Britain. We don’t want one
denomination running the nation. We will not all be Catholics, or
Anglicans, or any other single denomination.
We do want God’s principles, but we don’t want one denomination running the
nation.
~Congressional Records of our American founders, June 7th – September 25th, 1789
As we can see from the quote above, our forefathers were in complete
understanding that God’s principles were desired within our government,
but the
purpose of the first amendment was to prohibit an institutionalized
church, to which all must attend.
So where did the phrase “separation between church and state” come from?
In the year 1801, in Connecticut, the Danbury Baptist Association heard a
rumor that the government was planning on making the Congregationalist
denomination the official denomination of the nation. However Thomas
Jefferson wrote the Danbury Baptists and told them,
”the First Amendment has
erected a wall of separation between church and state”.
So the first true quotation of the aforementioned saying was simply
telling a religious organization that there would be no nationalized
denomination
– not that the practices of religion would be prohibited within the body
of government, nor the expression thereof.
"Had the people
(the Founding Fathers),
during the Revolution, had a suspicion of any attempt to war against
Christianity, that
Revolution would have been strangled in its cradle. At the time of the
adoption of the Constitution and the amendments, the universal sentiment
was
that Christianity should be encouraged, but not any one sect
(denomination)…. In this age, there is no substitute for Christianity…. That
was the religion of the founders of the republic, and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants."
~House Report from Judiciary Committees of House and Senate, May 27th, 1854. Senate Report reflected the same ideals
"The
great, vital, and conservative element in our system is the believe of
our people in the pure doctrines and divine truths of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ."
~Judiciary Committee Declaration, one month after original House Report
As we can see from the quotes above, directly taken from our founding
fathers and documents, the separation between church and state was never
intended as a religious divide. Nor was it intended to drive a wedge
between religion and governance.
The purpose for this post was to guide the ignorant, and bring to light
the flawed logic of those who would use the aforementioned concept
against the
TRUE foundation of Christianity being the true recognized, and universal religion, of the United States of America.
The purpose is to correct the lies stating our forefathers were not Christians.
God-Bless. Let truth reign. Let ignorance be denied.
