WHEN THE U.S. Constitution was ratified, Jews looked to this new country as a place where they would be safe from persecution, not only because they were guaranteed the freedom of religion, but also the freedom from a government-sanctioned religion.
“The civil government functions with complete success by the total separation of the Church from the State” (James Madison).
George Washington, in his letter to the Jewish Congregation of Newport, promised this new government would protect the rights of all religious groups: “For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection, should demean themselves as good citizens.”
Washington’s letter became the foundation of American religious liberty and the principle of separation of church and state.
The first amendment to our Constitution states that the government should not establish any religion.
Until recently, the courts have ruled that any hint of support for a particular faith was unconstitutional, but this legal wall has been eroding in recent years as more rulings have favored Christian institutions.
To constitutional scholars, recent laws in Alabama that all public schools and universities display the Ten Commandments, and in Oklahoma that public schools must teach the Bible, are a clear violation of the “establishment clause.”
In other states, laws have been passed to begin school days with prayer and allow religious chaplains to counsel students.
You can be sure those prayers and counselors are not Jewish, Muslim or Buddhist.
Those of us in minority religions, especially those with children in schools, are extremely alarmed at these attempts to influence our children to favor a particular religious belief.
After centuries of religious wars in Europe, and the earliest colonial experiment failing to guarantee freedom of religion to its citizens, the Founding Fathers were adamant that religion and government remain separate.
The Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony was a theocracy, and those who broke religious laws were arrested, punished, lost their land and were sometimes exiled to the wilderness, a fate which could be fatal.
The Salem Witch Trials were the tragic result of such a theocracy.
Though religious liberty in the United States has enabled people of all faiths to thrive, there have been times when leaders have tried to impose religious precepts into law.
For example, during immigration discussions, government officials would invoke various competing Bible verses to defend or attack border policies.
The concern should not be which Bible verse ought to be used, but why any religious text was being considered in making national policy.
In selecting Supreme Court justices, discussions have swirled over such issues as LBGTQ and abortion rights, triggering religious debates, which is understandable. But some government officials consulted conservative religious leaders for criteria to select a justice, thus making religion a basis for political office.
This is a violation of Article VI of the Constitution, which bans “all religious tests” for public office.
A few years ago, a government religious task force was formed, ostensibly to protect religious liberty. But only those of conservative Christian faiths supported this entity.
There are no Jewish, Muslim, Sikh or other minority faiths endorsing this task force.
A conservative columnist bemoaned decisions which he says are responsible for “de-Christianizing all public institutions in America.”
One wonders why these agencies were “Christianized” in the first place?
As Thomas Jefferson said, “Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law … I am for freedom of religion and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendancy of one sect over another.”
The Founding Fathers repeatedly warned against the collusion of religion and government.
“Persecution is not an original feature in any religion; but it is always the strongly marked feature of all religions established by law” (Thomas Paine).
By using religion rather than the Constitution to pass laws, we risk religious tyranny.
People of all faith traditions have been drawn to our country, not only for the freedom to worship, but also the freedom from having one faith embedded into law.
“States that are built on a religious foundation limit their own people in a circle of faith and fear,” warned author and Saudi dissident, Raif Badawi.
The Rev. Robert Sirico, a Catholic priest, said, “Theocracy is the destruction of human freedom in the name of God.”
We must remain vigilant against any trend leading our democracy toward a theocracy.
Our very liberty depends it.
Kein yehi Ratzon … may it be God’s will. Shalom.
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Issues of Faith is a rotating column by religious leaders on the North Olympic Peninsula. Suzanne DeBey is a lay leader of the Port Angeles Jewish community. Her email is debeyfam@olympus.net.
