Posted on 07/16/2007 6:24:38 AM PDT by fgoodwin
Stephen Mansfield explains how the "Everson" decison got it wrong and mis-represents the intent of the Founding Fathers, even of Thomas Jefferson himself.
Stephen Mansfield is a best-selling author. His book Ten Tortured Words: How the Founding Fathers Tried to Protect Religion in America and What's Happened Since was released in June.
The Everson decision was quarterbacked by Hugo Black, FDR man, Klansman and anti-Catholic bigot.
bookmarked
These words, the first 10 of our Bill of Rights, make the intentions of the Founding Fathers clear. Having just fought a war of independence against England and her state church, they had no intention of allowing the U.S. Congress the authority to erect a new religious tyranny to dominate their young nation. Instead, they denied Congress the power to create a national church. The states and the individual citizens, of course, were free to be as religious as they wanted to be.and misses an important point. Some States did have their own official religion, and they did not want to have to adopt a different official religion of the National government.
ML/NJ
BUMP!
That begs the question; if the several states had their own official religion, and if the Federal Constitution applies to all states, how was the "apparent" contradiction explained away until 1947?
Until the 14th amendment, the Feds weren’t charged with protecting the civil rights of citizens in some areas. It took awhile to build up caselaw based on the 14th.
The most important point to remember in this, the 60th anniversary year of the Everson decision, is that our Founding Fathers did in fact make a covenant with us. That covenant guaranteed us that Congress would make no state church but that religion could be free to shape our national life with its ethical and ennobling content. We suffer for lack of that content today, and it is time for us to consider anew the wisdom of our Founders in guaranteeing us the blessings of faith while protecting us from the dark tyrannies of faith that bedeviled the centuries before us. The Founders’ plan for religion in our national life was certainly more successful than the confused design the courts have saddled us with today.
.
One comment on this. States DID have the right to create a Religion (prior to 1947). Not the Federal Government.
.
Do you remember Roy Moore (”State” Judicial Building of Alabama). NOT FEDERAL... Ten Commandments being removed was exactly wrong. But because of this WRONG Everson decision the Federal Govt. was able to use this as a stick to remove a State Chief Justice and the Ten Commandments. This needs to be overturned.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.