"Jefferson is frequently cited...because his views are often erroneously used to support complete government neutrality on religious matters... ...But it is amusing, if not tragic, that the prevailing misinterpretation of the religious clause is wholly based on a distorted analysis of the intentions of a man who was not even present when the First Amendment was proposed, debated, and passed. He was the first U.S. Minister to Paris at the time. Moreover, even if Jefferson were present, and even if his views were hostile to Christianity (which is not the case), he would still represent the opinion of only one man. What Jefferson thought of the First Amendment is actually irrelevant from the standpoint of interpreting the law, which he had no hand in shaping. It is extremely frustrating to write history today because so much effort must go toward correcting the countless distortions that have been inserted into accounts of our heritage by militant secularists who twist facts to suit their narrow anti-religious political agendas." (Hart)
"Because of the popular portrait of Jefferson as a radical secularist and enemy of religion, Christians are sometimes inclined to completely dismiss Jefferson. This is a serious mistake. A paranthetical phrase taken out of context in a letter he wrote to Baptist ministers in Danbury, CT, has been used to distort the true Jefferson. Ignored, for example, are Jefferson's Regulations for the University of Virginia, which he founded. Written on October 4, 1842, his rules state: 'Should the religious sects of this State, or any of them, according to the invitation held out to them, establish within, or adjacent to, the precints of the University, schools for the instruction in the religion of their sect, the students of the University will be free, and expected to attend religious worship at the establishment of their respective sects,in the morning, and in time to meet their school in the University at its stated hour.' (Emphasis added by author, Hart) "Furthermore, Jeffeson's rules stipulate: 'The students of such religious schools, it they attend any school or University, shall be considered as students of the University, subject to the same regulations, and entitled to the same rights and privileges.'"(Hart)
"Whether or not Jefferson himself was a Christian is open to question. The evidence suggests that he wavered between deism and the New Testament faith. But there is no doubt that he believed religious ideas essential to education and the development of character. [Jefferson wrote]: 'The relations which exist between man and his Maker, and the duties resulting from those relations, are the most interesting and important to every human being, and most incumbent on his study and investigation...' "...He, therefore, recommended the establishment of a professional school of 'Theology and Ecclesiastical History.' He also believed that 'profane swearing,' meaning deriding that which is 'sacred and holy,' if not immediately corrected, was grounds for dismissal from the university- which incidentally was financed by tax revenue. If Jefferson's mind was shaped by the Enlightenment, is was the sober Christian Enlightenment of Locke, Montesquieu, and Blackstone, not the bitter and God-hating doctrines of Rousseau, Diderot, and D'Alembert." (Hart)
"We have seen how Jefferson's and Madison's efforts to disestablish the Anglican Church in Virginia have been egregiously distorted to support strict separation between faith and politics. Usually omitted from the legislative histories penned by radical secularists is Madison's 'Bill for Punishing Disturbers of Religious Worship and Sabbath Breakers'- especially interesting because it was presented the same day(October 31, 1785) as Madison's and Jefferson's 'Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom.' The law providing for the punishment of Sabbath breakers included the following language: 'If any person on Sunday shall himself be found laboring at his own or any other trade or calling, or shall employ the apprentices, servants or slaves in labor, or other business, except it be in the ordinary household offices or daily necessity, or other work of necessity or charity, he shall forfeit the sum of ten shillings for every such offense, deeming every apprentice, servant, or slave so employed, and every day shall be so employed as constituting a distinct offense.'...Even those alarmed today by the general moral laxity and deterioration of religious life of the nation would probably consider a law punishing Sabbath breakers as symptomatic of fundamentalist zealotry, and placing at peril the civil liberties of all Americans. Madison's proposal, which passed in 1789, went well beyond the usual request by Christians today that they be permitted equal time and access to public facilities." (Hart)
HiTech |
