My parents’ guidance: Never talk politics or religion. They must be shaking their heads.
Of all the issues of concern with the Trump administration’s intentions and actions, there is none more disturbing than that of Christian nationalism. In many people’s opinion, that is as ill-conceived an idea as praising the benefits of slavery.
Personally, if anyone wants to be a Christian, go forth and God bless. Just don’t, in that process, tell me what I have to believe. The same can be said about the notion that the Christian church must be put into the position of telling our government what to do.
This is being advanced even though our Constitution says precisely the opposite. Our Constitution’s First Amendment clearly says: “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
There is no “maybe” or “sometimes” or “depending on …” There is only “Congress shall make no law …”; and from that comes The Principle of the Separation of Church and State, or “Disestablishment.” The Constitution’s drafters thought this Principle was important enough to include in the very first Amendment. Why? Before history is rewritten by executive order, a trip down History Lane is advisable so we can remember what happens when faiths govern.
When faiths govern, there are wars. For hundreds of years, battles were fought in Europe between Christian denominations. Few things are more compelling than the righteousness of a religious cause. And few things are more devastating than the intolerance that comes from that righteousness. That is what the drafters of our Constitution knew. They knew history. They learned about religious persecutions. They saw the dangers that lurk in “religionizing politics,” of the sacrilegious mating of the sacred and the profane. They knew to avoid the predictable outcomes of denominations vying for power and control. In short, they knew a horrible idea when they saw one.
Now, for the sake of discussion, let’s say that the drafters got it wrong and that this is even a moderately reasonable idea to consider. The question then is:
Of the roughly 67 recognized Christian denominations in the U.S., which will call the shots and determine government policy? Will the Baptists let the Catholics be in charge? Will either of them graciously cede dictum to the Church of Christ folk? Where do Pentecostals, Quakers, Evangelicals, 7th Day Adventists, Congregationalists, Mennonites, LDS, Methodists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Lutherans, Presbyterians or any of the other 53 U.S. Christian sects fit into this model? Which doctrine will prevail to sail our Ship of State? Will all the denominations set aside their differences and rise united to the greater cause not of saving souls, but of governing?
Or will they vie for power and control, as is their historically preferred method of conflict resolution when given the chance? Setting up a structure in which that happens is a fool’s errand.
Apparently, there is no hypocrisy in rallying around the idea that, way too often, our government oversteps and tells us what we can and cannot do, then, in the next breath, advocating for the union of church and state. Worship is one of the most personal things a person can do, so how can it be all right for the government to tell us not only how we must behave, but what we must believe?
The drafters knew the dangers of establishing a state religion and what they were doing by preempting it. The Principle of Separation of Church and State works and should not be tampered with under the delusion that eliminating it will improve our society. People must continue to have the ability to “free exercise thereof” in how they worship and live their lives. That is as essential a freedom as can be found anywhere and must not be taken from us.
Josh Joswick served on the La Plata County Board of County Commissioners from 1993-2005. He is a resident of Bayfield.
