But the first amendment went through many rewritings. By September 3 of 1789, it was stated this way.
"Congress shall not make any law infringing the rights of conscience, or establishing any religious sect or society."
This was changed. It was changed to;
"Congress shall make no law establishing any particular denomination of religion in preference to another, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, nor shall the rights of conscience be infringed."
And changed again, they wrote;
"Congress shall make no law establishing one religious society in preference to others or to infringe the rights of conscious."
And at the end of the day, it was written;
"Congress shall make no law establishing religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
They went home, still not satisfied. They returned on September 9th and wrote this.
"Congress shall make no law establishing articles of faith or a mode of worship, or prohibiting the free exercise of religion."
And finally, they came to agreement. And these are the words of agreement;
"Congress shall make no law regarding an establishment of religion nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptists
Gentlemen,
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist Association, give me the highest satisfaction. My duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, and in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for is faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church and State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection and blessing of the common Father and Creator of man, and tender you for yourselves and your religious association, assurances of my high respect and esteem
Also see Runkel v. Winemiller
Adlibbing the First Amendment Written by John Edward Fleckenstein Jr.
Most of us hear and experience the effects of the First Amendment and its famous "wall of separation between church and state." However, the First Amendment contains no such statement, either in written or implied form. Sadly enough, the Supreme Court adlibbed the First Amendment and destroyed its original meaning.
"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." This is the entire passage of the First Amendment. One might say, "Could that possibly infer someway the removal of Christianity, and specifically prayer from all connections with government?" Very unlikely. Congress spent much time wording and rewording this amendment to mean anything but the isolation of the government and its associated institutions from religion. By law they recorded all such congressional discussions. Here is the congressional statement of the First Amendment's purpose concerning religion: "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 ruling the nation." Could their intent be any clearer?
If the "separation of church and state" is not in the First Amendment (it is not anywhere in US law) where did it come from? On November 7, 1801, the Danbury Baptist wrote a letter to President Thomas Jefferson wrought with fear that the government might control the "free exercise of religion" and by that, setup one national denomination. Realizing the danger, Jefferson replied by restating the congressional intentions as, a "wall of separation between church and state" guaranteeing that the government will not interfere with the religious activities of its citizens.
In 1853 a certain group petitioned congress to have a "severation" of church and state. The House of Representatives replied with the following: "Had the people, 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 subsequent congressional and Supreme Court rulings, the Constitution and the entire letter that Jefferson wrote served as the official interpreter of the First Amendment.
Only recently did the Supreme Court begin to completely reverse itself and the myriads of cases, such as Runkel v. Winemiller and the People v. Ruggles, to name a couple. In the 1962 case of Engel v. Vitale, the Supreme Court redefined the First Amendment as isolating (severing) the church from the government (state) and outlawing prayer. The Supreme Court used only eight words from Jefferson's letter as a precedent for their new Constitutional definition. This was most odd, because previously in the case Church of the Holy Trinity v. U.S., the Supreme Court declared eighty-seven precedents with the ruling of inseparable bonds between government and Christianity.
The 1962 Supreme Court seriously tampered with the First Amendment, tricking the American public into making concessions under twisted definitions. As President Ronald Reagan once said: "Sometimes, I can't help but feel the First Amendment is being turned on its head. Because ask yourselves: Can it really be true that the First Amendment can permit Nazis and Klu Klux Klansmen to march on public property, advocate the extermination of people of the Jewish faith and the subjugation of blacks, while the same amendment forbids our children from saying a prayer in school?" I rest my case
I tend to think the idea was that no denomination of Christianity was supposed to dominate as in England or Italy. |
