Freedom From Religion Foundation & the First Amendment Dilemma
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, claims to be an educational group working for the separation of state and church. Its purposes, as stated in its bylaws, are to promote the constitutional principle of separation of state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to non-theism. However, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, in their desire to protect the Constitution, are actually attacking it.
Article 6 of our Constitution specifies that "No Religious Test shall ever be required as a qualification to any Office or Public Trust under the United States," and it is not. People of a diverse number of faiths serve in Public Faith in our nation. Our Founding Fathers did not want a specific faith endorsed, nor did they want to see it suppressed. Public expression of Faith is not illegal, and prayer is public institutions is permitted, but never forced. Contrary to popular view, the phrase of "Separation of Church and State" is not written in the Constitution. The Origin of this phrase came a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association of Connecticut in the year 1802 in which Jefferson promised the members of the organization the right to freely worship and express their faith, without government interference.
The reality is that Freedom From Religion Foundation, which files lawsuits to remove the 10 Commandments from Public, take the phrase "Under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance, and remove public displays of Nativity scenes use the phrase "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion," but they ignore the following phrase that states "nor prohibit the free exercise thereof." In truth, if you define Religion as "a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, & purpose of the universe," then by definition, atheism is a religion. So, if intolerant atheists seek to use lawsuits and legal threats to remove all expression of theism from public, then they are in truth undermining the First Amendment and are actually promoting the kind of intolerance that they are claiming to try and fight.
Many may be surprised by this, but many of our Founding Father's had a strong belief in the existence of a higher power. The Declaration of Independence stated clearly that "All are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights" and it called for a "Firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence." Benjamin Franklin and others continually prayed and called on the assistance of God during the 1787 Constitution Convention. So for the members of Freedom of Religion, I would say we should practice the policy of "Tolerance," and not accommodation. If an atheist does not wish to say the phrase "Under God" in the pledge of allegiance, then they should not be forced to, but they should not seek to prevent others from doing so. If they don't wish to pray in Public, they should not push to deny others the right to pray. If they don't like the Bible in public schools, they don't have to read it, but they shouldn't deny others the right to read it. If they don't believe in the 10 Commandments, then they simply need not look at them. Instead of worrying about Freedom of Religion being offended, we should help show them how not to be offended.
Article 6 of our Constitution specifies that "No Religious Test shall ever be required as a qualification to any Office or Public Trust under the United States," and it is not. People of a diverse number of faiths serve in Public Faith in our nation. Our Founding Fathers did not want a specific faith endorsed, nor did they want to see it suppressed. Public expression of Faith is not illegal, and prayer is public institutions is permitted, but never forced. Contrary to popular view, the phrase of "Separation of Church and State" is not written in the Constitution. The Origin of this phrase came a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association of Connecticut in the year 1802 in which Jefferson promised the members of the organization the right to freely worship and express their faith, without government interference.
The reality is that Freedom From Religion Foundation, which files lawsuits to remove the 10 Commandments from Public, take the phrase "Under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance, and remove public displays of Nativity scenes use the phrase "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion," but they ignore the following phrase that states "nor prohibit the free exercise thereof." In truth, if you define Religion as "a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, & purpose of the universe," then by definition, atheism is a religion. So, if intolerant atheists seek to use lawsuits and legal threats to remove all expression of theism from public, then they are in truth undermining the First Amendment and are actually promoting the kind of intolerance that they are claiming to try and fight.
Many may be surprised by this, but many of our Founding Father's had a strong belief in the existence of a higher power. The Declaration of Independence stated clearly that "All are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights" and it called for a "Firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence." Benjamin Franklin and others continually prayed and called on the assistance of God during the 1787 Constitution Convention. So for the members of Freedom of Religion, I would say we should practice the policy of "Tolerance," and not accommodation. If an atheist does not wish to say the phrase "Under God" in the pledge of allegiance, then they should not be forced to, but they should not seek to prevent others from doing so. If they don't wish to pray in Public, they should not push to deny others the right to pray. If they don't like the Bible in public schools, they don't have to read it, but they shouldn't deny others the right to read it. If they don't believe in the 10 Commandments, then they simply need not look at them. Instead of worrying about Freedom of Religion being offended, we should help show them how not to be offended.
Sources:
Bethke, Jefferson. Jesus vs. Religion: Why He is so Much Better than Trying Harder, Doing More, and Being Good Enough. Nashville: Nelson Books. 2008.
Carson, Ben. America the Beautiful: Rediscovering what made this Nation Great. Grand Rapids, MI Zondervan. 2012.
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