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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank
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To: The Philosopher who wrote (40065)12/3/2001 11:45:34 AM
From: Win Smith  Read Replies (2) of 82486
 
Good old "Christian Nation" apologist Hodgkins, now preaching on the true meaning of religious freedom.

I also object to two characterists of certain (not by any means all) athiests. First is denial of history; basic denial that we were founded as a Christian nation, and basic denial that that has had a lot to do with shaping the nature of our society, both for good and for bad.
http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=15667640

Bill of Rights author Madison would no doubt be greatly amused by that formulation.

How did Madison acquire this understanding of rights? In large part, through his powerful commitment to freedom of conscience. For Madison, as for Thomas Jefferson, the horrific religious persecutions of the 16th and 17th centuries were the equivalent of what the history of racial slavery and discrimination has been for us: the most compelling example of the systematic denial of fundamental rights to unpopular minorities. Their radical solution to the religion problem was to recognize that every individual retains a sovereign right to accept or reject the claims of religion, entirely free of the coercive authority of the state or community.

Today, efforts are repeatedly made to suggest that Madison and Jefferson were not quite the ardent advocates of separating church and state that their strongest statements on the subject suggest. In fact, the more Madison thought about the subject, the more militant his thinking grew.
nytimes.com
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