Freedom in the First: The Right of Religion

Amendment I (1791) 

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.

James Wilson once said, "Human law must rest its authority ultimately upon the authority of that law which is divine.  Far from being rivals or enemies, religion and law are twin sisters, friends, and mutual assistants.  Indeed, these two sciences run into each other."  He knew a little something about law as he was one of the six original justices appointed to the Supreme Court by George Washington, this after being a member of the Continental Congress in 1776, and helping to produce our Constitution.

And, although our first President seemed to have little use for the church or its ceremonies, George Washington did state, "Religion and morality are the essential pillars of civil society."  Noah Webster said, "The moral principles and precepts contained in the scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. . . All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible."  Many of our Constitution's signatories and the framers of our nation, our Founding Fathers, knew of the importance of religion and morality.

There is much historical debate about whether this country was founded on Christian principals.  The debate continues to this day, and yet we constantly ignore the obvious.  Our country was, in fact, based on Christian moral principles.  But our Leaders were intelligent enough to leave religion out of government, as there must be a separation of church and state.  Mark 12:17 may have guided them, "And Jesus said unto them, Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's."

In this country you have a right to the peaceful practice of your spiritual beliefs.  You also have the right to your peaceful practice of believing in absolutely nothing, if this is your path.  Morality is, by definition, those principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.  Abrahamic religions would tout the rules for a moral life set forth in their respective scripture, and Buddhists might defer to their masters of philosophy.  Those not of a religious tilt might point out that morality has its roots with Greek philosophers like Thales, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.  All would be right, to their own belief.  And what is right is precisely the point of morality.  It is, after all, what most peaceful, civilized societies base their laws upon.

We tend to forget that everybody has the right to live, work, and worship, or not, in peace.  And, for some reason, we find it necessary to try and force our beliefs on each other.  Our ego seems to get in the way of our good sense to the point where religious icons are removed from public buildings, and atheists find themselves creating a symbol of their own religious of non-belief.  Coming soon, the Church of Atheism being built on a street corner near you!  Sound farfetched?  Ego is a peculiar bedfellow; it often runs contrary to our own particular philosophy.  We will continue this insanity of calling each other out on issues which we feel violate our own personal beliefs, and the government courts will continue to make judgments that curtail our rights of peaceful belief, speech, and expression simply because someone is offended.  The Constitution is sooo doomed.

But a Constitution of Government once changed from freedom, can never be restored.  Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.

-- John Adams

I leave you with something to chew on from The Legal Information Institute of Cornell University Law School.  Links are underlined and I have highlighted interesting points to ponder, in red:

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference. See U.S. Const. amend. I. Freedom of expression consists of the rights to freedom of speech, press, assembly and to petition the government for a redress of grievances, and the implied rights of association and belief. The Supreme Court interprets the extent of the protection afforded to these rights. The First Amendment has been interpreted by the Court as applying to the entire federal government even though it is only expressly applicable to Congress. Furthermore, the Court has interpreted, the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as protecting the rights in the First Amendment from interference by state governments. See U.S. Const. amend. XIV.

What?

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."