The First Amendment

When the United States were formed into the old federation under the U.S. Constitution one of the first things done by Congress was to propose amendments to the brand new Constitution which had only recently been ratified. Those who had opposed the Constitution had fought for changes to the Constitution before ratification. The Constitution was eventually ratified in some very close votes. The supporters of ratification were able to win over some of their opponents by promising to amend the Constitution with the opponents’ proposals as soon as it was in place.

James Madison, who led the pro-Constitution fight in Virginia, was true to his word and offered 13 proposed amendments. Ten of those amendments passed and they are today known as the Bill of Rights. I would like to address part of the First Amendment. It states:

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 part I would like to discuss is that part which states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The courts and popular media during the second half of the 20th century turned this statement onto its head. They have distorted its meaning and used it to stifle the public expression of the Christian faith in America.

Most Americans have no idea what the founders meant when they wrote this (or anything else in the Constitution) because we are, as a people, abysmally ignorant of the political, religious and philosophical milieu of that day. A majority of Americans have bought into a lie about the 1st Amendment because they have no idea what the Founders intended when they wrote it. Those who are ignorant about the truth are easily led and taught to believe a lie.

What did the founders mean by this statement? Before looking at that lets look at what they did not mean. They did not mean that children could not say “under God” in a pledge (Note: I personally dislike the pledge, but that is another story). The founders did not intend for nativity scenes to be barred from public property. They also did not mean for the 1st Amendment to be used to do away with “blue laws” in local communities. We could continue with examples, but I hope you get the point.

Here is why the founders wrote this section of the amendment. The United States under the Constitution formed a “federation” or “confederation” of sovereign states (i.e. nations). If you asked one of these early Americans what country he was from he would have named his home state and not the United States.

The states that created the federation (i.e. the United States) were all Christian and dogmatically so. Of these Maryland, which was founded as a haven for English Roman Catholics, did not have an established church, Pennsylvania which was set up as a haven for English Quakers did not have an established church and neither did Rhode Island which was founded by the Baptist Roger Williams. These three states were still “Christian” states though they did not have established churches. All the rest of the states had established state or national churches. Some of the established churches were Anglican (Church of England) and the others were Congregational. The American statesmen who wrote and ratified the First Amendment did so because they understood ecclesiastical matters were a state issue, and not a federal issue.

Calvinistic Christianity was the overwhelming theological view of early Americans in both establised and non-established churches alike. It is also important to know that large segments of the colonies had revolted against King George in part because they feared that he was going to establish Anglicanism in those states where it was not already the official state “church.”

The 1st Amendment did not create a “separation of church and state”, as it is understood today. It barred the establishment of a “federal church” by congress. Nine of the states, which ratified the Bill of Rights, had established state churches. The same congress, which wrote the 1st Amendment, produced chaplains for the military; it created chaplains for the house and senate. These same men authorised the printing of Bibles for use in converting the Indians, et cetera.

The 1st Amendment is not ambiguous. It made it illegal for CONGRESS to pass a law establishing an official federally supported and sponsored church. The federal courts have grossly distorted the intent of the founders on this point as they have on many others as well.

The type of “separation of church and state” as touted and promoted by the ACLU, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and other liberal groups is a horrible perversion of the original intent of the founding fathers who ratified the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Deo Vindice,
Kenith