Video Creator’s Channel Dr. Steve Turley

Alright There Uk Well A Happy Fourth Of

July to everyone I certainly hope you have a blessed day celebrating our nation with family and friends and loved ones. I wanted to take this occasion to post a video on the whole notion of church and state in the context of the founding era of our nation and I’ve based this study on the wonderful work of Princeton scholar John Wilson and of course July. The 4th is a central date for any revitalized sense of American tradition and patriotism, and I really do believe that at the heart of such tradition and patriotism is the radically unique provision made for religion by the American Constitution. Now what Wilson does is he reminds us that before there was a United States of America. There were of course colonies and as these colonies rebelled against British rule They were faced with.

The Implications Of A De Facto Self–Rule, Which

in turn transformed the colonies into States and what’s so interesting Here is that each of the states exemplified their own unique religious character and complexion, which actually goes a long way to explain why original constitutional drafts for a national federation tended to downplay any federal role in defining such religious character and complexion. They’re already pretty well established as the colonies transformed into States. So for example, South Carolina’s 1778 Constitution effectively established Christianity, which restricted office holders to those who affirmed Protestant beliefs and practices its neighbor North Carolina in place such strictures formally in its constitution, but the default practice was of course governing by those professing Protestant beliefs. Georgia took a similar path. Virginia was dominated by Anglicans, but because of the first Great Awakening in the 1730’s and 40s.

It Had A Number Of Presbyterians And Baptist

disestablished congregations that pretty effectively competed with the more establishment ankle Anglican church for political and cultural influence. Marilyn had a similar religious complexion as Virginian attended towards what’s known as an or a Stian arrangement where office holding was restricted to Christians, which interestingly enough was a formal requirement that dissipated only relatively recently in the mid-twentieth century and and that this was done in order to keep religious observance under relatively strict political control that is restricting office holding to Christians nearby Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. They were relatively disestablishment. Arian they didn’t require the tax support of churches and though they did restrict office holding to Protestants. Pennsylvania eventually opened up such office holding to Jews and Catholics in New England in Massachusetts.

They Tend To Privilege Congregationalists Office Holders,

but their constitution Massachusetts that is stipulated all citizens. were duty-bound to worship a Supreme Being so they maintained religious freedom as a means by which citizens could fulfill this religious obligation in their own terms, such as was the case with Roman Catholics. Now All of this diversity suggests that when it came to a constitutional convention. The founding fathers really had to deal with a number of states with very different attitudes towards religious complexion and organization within their respective politics. Now the first draft crafted in Philadelphia made it pretty clear that religion was not going to be a major factor in forming a new National Union, but as Wilson makes clear.

This Was Not In Any Shape Or

form an attack on religion to some how irrelevant to the governing of a nation. Indeed, In many respects, the silence towards religion honored the important role that it was already playing uniquely in each of the states. In fact, Wilson argues that had the framers drafted a constitution that was more proactive in terms of defining the role of religion in the formation of the National Federation. It’s altogether likely that the whole effort to pass the Articles of Confederation would have completely collapsed now. When the concept of the Bill of Rights was introduced.

James.

Madison put forward a draft that while didn’t make it into the Constitution seems to have captured the the essence of the concern of most of the states. Madison’s protection of religion involves explicitly limiting the federal government’s jurisdiction over religion not in any sense limiting the individual states jurisdiction there just doesn’t seem to have been any sense of the federal government now having the authority to redefine. The political relation of church and state for the various states, which would of course of course involve overruling a number of them that’s pretty clear for Madison’s concerns and further there’d be no national religious prerequisite for federal office office holding precisely because again we’re dealing with a number of different established churches throughout the colonies turned States so one didn’t have to belong to a particular denominational outworking of divine worship in order to govern federally since such strictures would in effect privilege the religious complexion of one state or set of state over and against the other states, and so it actually became the first amendment took on the now-famous language. Congress Shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, and of course, it goes on to talk about Congress, not abridging the freedom of speech or the freedom of the press and and so on now what’s so interesting here is that this amendment in the context of the diverse establishment practices of states did not preclude clerical and religious participation.

The Life Of Congress.

The House of Congress could and most certainly did point Chaplin’s. The politicos cited Scripture in their speeches. They funded missions organizations to the Native Americans and even held church services on Sundays inside the Capitol building. In other words, and I think this is quite important for those of us who are rediscovering our traditions and and religious customs that make up a unique American identity.

The Access That Religion And Religious Figures

had to Congress was akin. To the kind of access that the Free Press has to its federal leaders? Can you imagine the federal government telling the press that they couldn’t exercise journalism on the grounds of the federal building? Could you imagine that they what would that they couldn’t speak as journalists on public property all because there’s say there’s this phrase of a wall of separation that we found in a letter written say by John Adams a wall of separation between press and state right that’s the First Amendment now that this idea of what the wall is going to interpret the relation between press and the state now that this is going on we the federal government including our courts are going to shut down any and all activity conducted by the press on any federal public property now of course that would be an insane infringement of the First Amendment. But what’s largely been going on since the 1940s is pretty much just such an infringement when it comes to the free exercise of religion. Conservative Christians have been taught by secular supremacists. Judges that they need to keep their faith private and that it’s not allowed to be exercised freely in the public sphere that’s an egregious violation of the First Amendment every bit as if they prevented the press from ever exercising anything or anyone in a public or federal jurisdiction.

In Terms Of Their Press Credentials.

We have to remember that the role that religion played in the length of the Republic for the founding fathers is comparable to what Oz Guinness calls the triangle of freedom. As far as the founding fathers were concerned the only way that we can have a functioning and indeed flourishing free society, as if that society were comprised of citizens. Educated and trained in virtues. It’s only through the practice of virtue that we can actually have self–governance.

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But The Only Way That We Can

educate and train citizens in virtue is through faith, particularly those institutions of faith such as church and family and community. But the only way that you can have real faith is if you have freedom since true faith cannot be coerced. But the only way that you can have true freedom is through virtue which is cultivated through faith, which requires freedom and on and on this is what I was getting us to the triangle of freedom true freedom requires virtue which requires religious faith which requires freedom. So. This triangle of freedom is an interconnected whole where every part implies the others and what we’ve done.

Since 1940 Is Weve Expelled.

These institutions of faith, particularly the church from the public realm. The Church solely in the private realm where it loses the capacity to Train citizens and virtue. Since virtue requires truth and objective moral norms and truth and objective moral norms collapse in the private realm of personal opinion and subjective sensibility and as a result now it’s the state that’s taking over all of the social and institutional dimensions at once that were once under the custodial care of the church as the indispensable instrument of virtue formation so when it comes to the family or health care or education, particularly in terms of its curriculum and pedagogical practice or conflict resolution and the like it’s now the state that is the final Court of Arbitration. All matters of demographic, economic, political and social life Now.

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I Think The Good News Is That There

really is a renaissance of interest in the Constitution and the founding principles of our. Nation I’m thinking particularly the wonderful work done David Barton and Rick Green of Wall Builders and Glenn Beck and the Blaze and Mark Levin and his ability to popularize his constitutional expertise and Don’t discount the TEa Party movement, though it appears to more or less dissipated in terms of a formal organization. It is it is a social indicator of a growing interest in the constitutional traditions of our nation that has itself not gone away and so I pray that you all have a blessed July The 4th may God grant our nation forgiveness, repentance and the blessings of liberty for generations to come God bless.

Summary

The 4th is a central date for any revitalized sense of American tradition and patriotism . At the heart of such tradition is the radically unique provision made for religion by the American Constitution . South Carolina’s 1778 Constitution effectively established Christianity, which restricted office holders to those who affirmed Protestant beliefs and practices its neighbor North Carolina in place such strictures formally in its constitution, but the default practice was of course governing by those professing Protestant beliefs . Virginia was dominated by Anglicans, but because of the first Great Awakening in the 1730’s and 40s, it had a number of Presbyterians and Baptist disestablished congregations that pretty effectively competed with the more establishment ankle Anglican church for political and cultural in the 18th century . The American Constitution has a very unique religious character and complexion. It actually goes a long way to explain why original constitutional drafts for a national federation tended to downplay any federal role in defining such religious character in defining the federal role of defining such a federal role ….. Click here to read more and watch the full video