○  truth and tolerance in america  ○

massachusetts exiled roger williams and his congregation for contending that civil government had no right to enforce the ten commandments. virginia harassed baptist teachers, and also established a religious test for public service, writing into the law that no “popish followers” could hold any office.

but during the revolution, catholics, jews, and non-conformists all rallied to the cause and fought valiantly for the american commonwealth -- for john winthrop’s “city upon a hill.” afterwards, when the constitution was ratified and then amended, the framers gave freedom for all religion, and from any established religion, the very first place in the bill of rights.

indeed the framers themselves professed very different faiths: washington was an episcopalian, jefferson a deist, and adams a calvinist. and although he had earlier opposed toleration, john adams later contributed to the building of catholic churches, and so did george washington. thomas jefferson said his proudest achievement was not the presidency, or the writing the declaration of independence, but drafting the virginia statute of religious freedom. he stated the vision of the first americans and the first amendment very clearly: “the god who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time.”

the separation of church and state can sometimes be frustrating for women and men of religious faith. they may be tempted to misuse government in order to impose a value which they cannot persuade others to accept. but once we succumb to that temptation, we step onto a slippery slope where everyone’s freedom is at risk. those who favor censorship should recall that one of the first books ever burned was the first english translation of the bible. as president eisenhower warned in 1953, “don’t join the book burners...the right to say id

上一页  [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]  ... 下一页  >>