THE FIRST AMEMDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is the
fundamental guarantee of religious freedom in the US. It reads:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,
or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the government for a redress of grievances."
Virginia Bill on Religious Freedom
The roots of the First Amendment can be traced to a bill written by Thomas
Jefferson (1743-1826) in 1777 and proposed (1) to the Virginia Legislature in
1779. It guaranteed freedom of (and from) religion. After an impassioned
speech by James Madison, and after some amendments, it became law on 1786-JAN-16 (2).
Constitution of the United States
The following Spring, Philadelphia PA hosted the Constitutional Convention.
They resolved three main religious controversies. They:
- decided that there would be no religious test, oath or other requirement
for any federal elected office
- allowed Quakers and others to affirm (rather than swear) their oaths of
office
- refrained from recognizing Christianity or one of its denominations
as an established, state church.
But there was no specific guarantee of religious freedom.
Jefferson was pleased with the constitution, but felt it was incomplete.
He pushed for legislation that would guarantee individual rights, including
what he felt was the prime guarantee: freedom of and from religion. Madison
promised to promote such a bill, in order to gain support for the
ratification of the constitution by the State of Virginia. In 1789, the first
of ten amendments were written to the constitution; they have since been
known as the Bill of Rights.
The First Amendment
Some early draft amendments were:
- James Madison, 1789-JUN-7 "The Civil Rights of none shall be
abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national
religion be established, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience
be in any manner, nor on any pretext infringed. No state shall violate the
equal rights of conscience or the freedom of the press, or the trial by jury
in criminal cases."
- House Select Committee, JUL-28 "No religion shall be
established by law, nor shall the equal rights of conscience be infringed,"
- Samuel Livermore, AUG-15 "Congress shall make no laws
touching religion, or infringing the rights of conscience."
- House version, AUG-20 "Congress shall make no law establishing
religion, or to prevent the free exercise thereof, or to infringe the
rights of conscience." (Moved by Fisher Ames)
- Initial Senate version, SEP-3 "Congress shall make no law
establishing religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
- Final Senate version, SEP-9 "Congress shall make no law
establishing articles of faith or a mode of worship, or prohibiting the
free exercise of religion."
- Conference Committee "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
The final wording was accepted by the House of Representatives on
1789-SEP-24; and by the Senate on 1789-SEP-25. It was ratified by the States
in 1791.
"Wall of Separation"
Shortly after Jefferson was elected president, some Baptists from Connecticut
asked that he declare a national day of fasting in order to help the country
recover from a bitterly fought presidential campaign. He felt that the
Federal government should not recognize a day set aside for religious
reasons. In his reply of 1802-JAN-1, (3) he stated:
"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between
man and his God, that he owes to none other for his faith or his worship,
that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not
opinions, I contemplate with solemn reverence that act of the whole American
people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting
an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,'
thus building a wall of separation between Church and State."
The "wall of separation" term has become a common expression to
describe the concept pioneered in the United States that the government and
churches should keep out of each other's way. Unfortunately, this has
been interpreted so strictly in recent years that religion has become
a forbidden topic in many public schools. As a result, many children are only
partially educated; they remain ignorant of the immense effects for good
and for evil that religion has had on societies throughout history.
In 1986, on the 200th anniversary of Virginia's call for a Bill of
Rights, 200 Americans signed the Williamsburg
Charter reaffirming their belief in the importance of the First
Amendment. In 1995, President Clinton delivered
a speech on religious freedom.
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Book References
- James Davidson and Os Guiness, editors, "Articles of
Faith, Articles of Peace: The Religious Liberty Clauses and the American
Public Philosophy". Hunter, Washington DC (1990).
- E.S. Gaustad, "Faith of Our Fathers: Religion and the New
Nation", Harper & Row, New York NY, (1987)
- A.A. Lipscomb & A.E. Bergh, editors, "The Writings of Thomas
Jefferson", Washington, (1907), Vol. 16, P. 281
Internet Reference
- "Common Ground" promotes consensus on matters
of religious expression in the schools, and religious liberty in American
life. See:
http://www.fac.org/publicat/cground/contents.html
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