Free Republic

“The right of freely examining public characters and measures, and of free communication among the people thereon . . . has ever been justly deemed the only effectual guardian of every other right. James Madison (Virginia Resolutions, 24 December 1798) And as the power weilded by government increases, why is the accountibility decreasing, along with the politicians’ respect for the original design? ”All human situations have their inconveniences. We feel those of the present but neither see nore feel those of the future; and hence, we often make troublesome changes without amendment, and frequently for the worse.”Benjamin Franklin “The Constitution...

No metaphor in American letters has had a more profound influence on law and policy than Thomas Jefferson’s “wall of separation between church and state.” Today, this figure of speech is accepted by many Americans as a pithy description of the constitutionally prescribed church–state arrangement, and it has become the sacred icon of a strict separationist dogma that champions a secular polity in which religious influences are systematically and coercively stripped from public life.In our own time, the judiciary has embraced this figurative phrase as a virtual rule of constitutional law and as the organizing theme of church–state jurisprudence, even...

Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists The Final Letter, as Sent To messers. Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut. Gentlemen The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing. Believing...

(For the latest FBI forensic research on Thomas Jefferson's letter click here. For an exemplary analysis of the context of this exchange between the Danbury Baptists and Jefferson, see Daniel L Dreisbach's "'Sowing Useful Truths and Principles': The Danbury Baptists, Thomas Jefferson, and the 'Wall of Separation'" in the Journal of Church and State, Vol. 39, Summer 1997.) The address of the Danbury Baptist Association in the State of Connecticut, assembled October 7, 1801. To Thomas Jefferson, Esq., President of the United States of America Sir, Among the many millions in America and Europe who rejoice in your election to...

The National Historic Preservation Act on its face does not exclude religious historical sites: As far as Congress is concerned, they too are eligible for federal funds to help with their upkeep. But the executive branch, to satisfy radical separationist interpretations of the First Amendment, has read the religious exclusion into the statute since 1966. The Bush administration has now changed that. Historic sites that happen to be religious in nature may now apply for preservation funds on an equal basis with secular historical sites. Why did it take so long? Because radical separationism has had a stranglehold on American...

What Church Should Be Constitutionally Separated from the State?Samuel G. Dawson This article examines the meaning of the word "church" in the phrase "separation of church and state." It is a particularly timely subject because of movements to restrict the expression of religion and morality in our society based on the "Constitutional Separation of Church and State." Examples of these ever-increasing restrictions are the recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States is unconstitutional because the words "under God" violates the separation of church and state. Earlier the same...