By Alan Caruba
The Declaration of Independence and
the U.S. Constitution do not abandon religion, they embrace it. They do not,
however, require that Americans believe in God, nor punish them for failing to
do so.
Central to the liberties enshrined in
these documents is the belief that they come from a higher power and America
exists because of that belief. Without it there would have been no America.
There are those among us who insist that, as a nation, we abandon faith in God
and, if we do, America will cease to be a power for good in the
world.
When
Thomas Jefferson presented the Declaration to those who would pledge their lives
and their sacred honor to achieve independence from England John Adams asked
that it include the words “They are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights” after the phrase “all men are created equal” and Benjamin
Franklin agreed, suggesting that “with a firm reliance on the protection of
Divine Providence” be added as well.” In their 2004 book, “Under God” by Toby
Mac and Michael Tait, said “The changes demonstrated Congress’s strong reliance
upon God—as delegates added the words “appealing to the Supreme Judge of the
World for the rectitude of our intentions.”
Aware of the dangers inherent in a
state religion, the First Amendment says “Congress shall make no law respecting
an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” followed
by freedom of speech, the press, and the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievance.” There is
no state religion in America, but reflecting the values that created it, its
leaders have always acknowledged a greater power than government, the belief in
God.
There would be no America if the
Pilgrims who established Plymouth, Massachusetts had not left England in the
quest for their right to worship as they wished, reflecting the Protestant
Reformation. Another early settlement, Jamestown, was a business venture by
investors to obtain wealth. Jamestown failed and Plymouth is with us today.
I am not a religious person per se,
but I do believe in God. Always have and always will. I don’t insist that anyone
else has to and neither do our founding documents. They do, however, acknowledge
God and sought His protection to create a new nation; a republic with clearly
stated protections for all its citizens.
There are, however, those who insist
that any reference to God be removed from public documents and recognition. The
leader among them is the Freedom From Religion Foundation and their most recent
lawsuit is against the U.S. Treasury Department claiming they are discriminating
against non-believers by including the phrase “In God We Trust” on the nation’s
currency. Their claim is that the government is prohibited from endorsing
religion over non-religion.
“In God We Trust” on U.S. coins was
first approved by Congress during the Civil War in 1864. In 1956, Congress
passed a resolution to recognize the words officially as the national motto,
replacing the de facto phrase, “E Pluribus Unum” and it has appeared on U.S.
currency since 1957.
The Foundation’s intention is to make
any acknowledgement of God illegal by any public institution. If that is true,
then we might was well tear up the Declaration and Constitution. Atheists are
not content to not believe in God, they insist that everyone else not believe as
well. That is a form of tyranny we must not permit to exist in
America.
The Freedom
from Religion Foundation specializes in lawsuits to advance what it calls
the separation of church and state, but this principle is enshrined in the
Constitution along with the right to freely exercise one’s faith. Its lawsuits
are designed to destroy religion in America. In 2012 the Foundation had total
contributions of $2,726,316. Nearly 90% was devoted to its attack on the freedom
of
religion.
In 2013, the Huffington Post reported
that In the past six years the Foundation’s paid membership had increased 130
percent. It was estimated at “nearly 20,000” members. Its co-president, Laurie
Gaylor, said that recent high-profile legal victories had increased the
foundation’s popularity.
There is still strong support in
Congress for the freedom of religion. In 1993 it passed the Religious Freedom
Restoration Act aimed at preventing laws that substantially burden a person’s
free exercise of religion. It was signed into law by President Clinton. In 1997
the Supreme Court found that it was unconstitutional if applied to states,
ruling that it was not a proper exercise of Congress’s enforcement power. It
does, however, still apply to the federal government. In response, some states
passed their own religious freedom restoration acts.
The Act was recently cited by the
Supreme Court that ruled that closely held companies may be exempted from a
government requirement to include contraceptives in employee health insurance
coverage if it contravenes their belief in the sanctity of
life.
There are millions more Americans who
belong to various religious faiths and who believe that America must protect
their right to exercise their faith. A relatively small Freedom From Religion
Foundation will continue to use the courts to impose their atheistic views on
any public institution. They must be resisted if America is to remain a citadel
to the world as a place where people of faith can live together and exercise the
tolerance that the atheists will not.
© Alan Caruba, 2014
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