Separation of Church and State: What Did the Founders Have In Mind?

Jordan Richardson

October 31, 2007
 

For most students of constitutional law, the question of separation of church and state has often been discussed and debated. There have been scholarly inquiries into the nuances and intent of the framers ideals concerning this subject. Political action groups have also taken an interest in the discussion, however, they have taken the argument all the way to the prestigious Supreme Court, requesting for a ruling on the divisive issue.

The result is a renewed discussion among the citizens of the United States over what their forefathers really intended when they wrote the great document of freedom, the Constitution. The implications now resonate throughout all aspects of constitutional law, demanding an answer to the question that has inevitably surfaced in the legal and social community: What place does God have in our Government?


The question is paramount. It provides a look into the molding and understanding of the greatest legal document ever penned. The answer gives a comprehensive, balanced view of what the Founders believed to be true, that God is the giver of authority, and all power comes through Him.

The facts surrounding the early years of America's independence lead to unavoidable conclusion, that God does belong in government and in the halls of justice.

The Framers of the Constitution derived the powers of that document from a higher authority. They believed in the Judeo-Christian God, and accordingly purposed to follow the commands of the teachings of Jesus. Indeed, John Adams explicitly expressed his desire to maintain Christianity as the moral law that supported the Constitution. In a letter, he wrote:

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

The Founders recognized that God was the Author of Moral Law; He instilled the basic moral code in every human, the conscience. They distinguished that Christianity was the most relevant regulator of the moral law; that is, it is wrong to murder, steal, lie, etc; all of the things found in our current code of law. The Constitution was written with the Ten Commandments as a background. The basis for the idea that government could impose laws on citizens came about as the men of colonies determined that any of the basic laws they could pass would already be found in the Ten Commandments, and times being as they were, in the hearts of the citizens.

Somehow, after many years had passed, however, Americans forgot the great heritage of their country and the implications of altering the meaning and principle of the law. Prayer was outlawed from public schools; the Ten Commandments were removed from school and government property, and the words “Under God” became hate speech. The activist judges and politicians forgot the true history and heritage that America has. Their banner of waging war, the phrase “Separation of Church and State,” was used to implement the policies listed above. The true meaning of that phrase will be discussed here, as well as the tradition of respect for the Christian Religion.

First to define “Church.” Webster’s Dictionary describes “Church” as “A body or organization of religious believers.” This is the populace of Christian believers as well as leaders of the Christian religion. “State” is defined, in the tense that Jefferson meant, as “politically organized body of people usually occupying a definite territory.” The government, especially federal, is the body that governs society as a whole. In order to understand the issue, it is important to realize the different roles that church and state have.

The primary responsibility of the church was to maintain a relationship with citizenry to promote the advancement of the Christian values and morals. The Church has the responsibility to care for the widowed, the poor, and to provide a shelter for spiritual and moral growth in the community, facilitating the moral guidelines of the Constitution, the Ten Commandments. The government is not to interfere or dictate any policies of the church; this was the reason the pilgrims left England to begin with.

The government has the responsibility to provide a defense for the populace and the Church. They exist to quell the dark forces of human society, the murderers and thieves who prey upon the innocent. While the government must submit to a higher authority than themselves, God, the church is commanded to submit to the government. Romans 13 declares that, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” In this way, the church and government work hand in hand, yet they do not interfere with the other's responsibilities.

James Madison, often called the Father of the Constitution, wrote that, “The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries.” It was not a stern rebuke to the display or respect of religious activity, but a warning to the legislators and the executive office. If any law passed that clearly granted or denied a denomination or sect of religion as the official state religion, it would be a reversion to the policies that drove the pilgrims away from England and to America itself. It is hardly imaginable to comprehend the level of distortion of this phrase that would lead to court rulings against the Ten Commandments and the like.

The author of the phrase concerning the “wall,” Thomas Jefferson, while often depicted as opposed to the Christian faith, was indeed supportive of the Christian values the other Founders held. He said, “To the corruptions of Christianity I am, indeed opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian, in the only sense in which he wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines, in preference to all others.” The only qualm Jefferson had with Christianity was with “supernatural” references in the Bible. He believed it to be a moral document and as his history of theism indicates, did not believe in miracles. That hardly constitutes a basis for pronouncing that he was opposed to the Christian faith. Thomas Jefferson wrote that a wall of separation must exist between the two institutions because he understood that when the government interfered with religion, as had the state church of England, calamity would inevitably occur.

Yet, some Americans deemed his words of a wall to be a justification for removing references of religions from the public arena, as did the Supreme Court in 1962. Perhaps we should turn to one of the founding fathers for their suggestion on how to keep a wall between the two establishments. On March 28, 1787, Dr. Benjamin Rush wrote an open letter “To the citizens of Philadelphia: A Plan for Free Schools:”

"Let the children...be carefully instructed in the principles and obligations of the Christian religion. This is the most essential part of education. The great enemy of the salvation of man, in my opinion, never invented a more effectual means of extirpating Christianity from the world than by persuading mankind that it was improper to read the Bible at schools." He continued in the same letter: “The only foundation for a useful education in a republic is to be laid in religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty.”

Additionally, some conceived that religious displays in the halls of government are in violation of the ideal separation of Church and State. Judge Roy Moore erected the Ten Commandments in the Rotunda of the Alabama State Supreme Court. His purpose was to recognize the historically important biblical basis for the law. For this, he was lambasted in the media and throughout the liberal judicial community. Alan Keyes has said that, “We have already seen that the actual language of the Constitution does not forbid an establishment of religion. Rather, it forbids Congress to legislate on the subject at all, reserving it entirely to the states.” If any were offended by the public display of the Ten Commandments, however, the statement from John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, would enrage them.

He said, “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers. National prosperity can neither be obtained nor preserved without the favor of Providence.” John Jay, a judge like Moore, believed that all authority comes from God, and to outlaw the acknowledgement of the very authority that gave us our government, would a tremendous mistake.

If America continually denies the existence of God, severe consequences will take place. Acknowledgement of God affects all other decisions concerning freedom and liberty. Who gives the right to well-being and freedom? The state or God? To suppose that we give ourselves this right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness sets dangerous boundaries for all three branches of government. If we have given ourselves these rights, we must also have the authority to remove them. All constitutional concerns must grasp the importance that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights. The decline of a nation is when the leaders refuse to realize where their power and authority comes from.

It is fundamentally dangerous to deny the existence of a higher power than yourself. History has proven this repeatedly. Hitler believed the German people were the superior race, and that he, the Fuhrer, was the ultimate leader, the supreme authority. Stalin, Nero, Mussolini, and others have attempted to wrest control of power and establish kingdoms where their reign would be the decisive authority. The binding factor that each dictator possessed was the denial of a supreme God.

Thomas Jefferson said it best, “Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God?”