THE BASIS OF CHURCH-STATE RELATIONS PART 6
Section 3. GENERAL SUMMARY OF CHURCH—STATE
RELATIONS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION
A student of American constitutions, writing in 1907, thus summarized the
situation affecting religious rights in the various states:
In all the States except Alabama religious rights are recognized . . . by
the Constitutions in slightly varying terms ... Ebut these rights] are not
to excuse acts of licentiousness or to justify practices inconsistent with
the peace and safety of the State (19 States), or polygamy (2), or bigamy,
or advice and propaganda thereto (4) nor to excuse disturbance of the
public peace (4), nor to justify practices inconsistent with the rights of
others (3). No person is to disturb others in their religious worship
(4).17
Mr. Stimson seems to have been mistaken in his reference to Alabama, for as
early as 1819 the Declaration of Rights in the constitution adopted by the
state in that year contained this statement:
No person within this State shall, upon any pretence, be deprived of the
inestimable privilege of worshipping God in the manner most agreeable to
his own conscience; nor be compelled to attend any place of worship; nor
shall any one ever be obliged to pay any tithes, taxes, or other rate, for
the building or repairing any place of worship, or for the maintenance of
any minister or ministry.18
In the constitution of 1865 there was added this even more definite
section:
That no religion shall be established by law; that no preference shall be
given by law to any religious sect, society, denomination, or mode of
worship; that no one shall be compelled by law to attend any place of
worship, nor to pay any tithes, taxes, or other rate, for building or
repairing any place of worship, or for maintaining any minister or
ministry; that no religious test shall be required as a qualification to
any office or public trust under this State; and that the civil rights,
privileges, and capacities of any citizen shall not be in any manner
affected by his religious principles."
In the revision of 1867 the expression of these rights was somewhat
abbreviated, but they remained essentially intact.
That all persons resident in this State, born in the United States, or
naturalized, or who shall have legally declared their intention to become
citizens of the United States, are hereby declared citizens of the State of
Alabama, possessing equal civil and political rights and public
privileges.20
In 1875 the detailed statement of 1865 was restored, and it was retained in
the constitution of 1901.21
Evidently Mr. Stimson was misled by the omission of some of the clauses in
the 1867 revision.
Church and State in the United States . Volume I I I, Anson Phelps Stokes,
D.D. LL.D, Harper & Brothers, p. 445-46 (1950)
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You are invited to check out the following:
The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm
American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation of
Church and State in general, listed below]
HRSepCnS · Hampton Roads [Virginia] SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
[Its not just Hampton Roads folks who are members, there are members from
all over the US and a couple from overseas as well]
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.. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
.. . .
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USAF LT. COL (Ret) Buffman (Glen P. Goffin) wrote
"You pilot always into an unknown future;
facts are your only clue. Get the facts!"
That philosophy 'snipit' helped to get me, and my crew, through a good
many combat missions and far too many scary, inflight, emergencies.
It has also played a significant role in helping me to expose the
plethora of radical Christian propaganda and lies that we find at
almost every media turn.
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THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
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