OPINION:
Ed Feulner’s column “Celebrating the reason for the season” (Dec. 23) defending religious displays at Christmastime was right on point. It astonishes me how many people believe that the phrase “separation of church and state” is associated with the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson coined that phrase in a letter he wrote to the Danbury Baptists in Connecticut in 1801, and Jefferson wasn’t even at the convention that produced the Constitution.
The “freedom of religion” language in the First Amendment makes two simple points. It reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” So, first of all, Congress cannot “establish” a state religion. It can’t force us to worship or support with our tax dollars one official religion over any others. Second, Congress can’t prohibit us from “exercising” any religion we see fit. We can be Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Buddhists, even atheists, provided that the tenets of a particular religion don’t force us to act in ways that violate the law (human sacrifices, for example).
In truth, the founders encouraged religious faith, even in the public square. Why? Because most religious faiths teach moral principles — the difference between right and wrong, good and bad, and love and hate. Moral principles positively influence human behavior, and the founders believed a well-ordered society depended on the good behavior of the citizens.
On Dec. 16, 1791, the day after the First Amendment and the other nine amendments that make up the Bill of Rights were ratified, Congress asked President Washington to “recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging, with grateful hearts, the many signal favors of Almighty God.” Clearly, believers in the separation of church and state will not find support for their cause in the words or deeds of the founders.
BRUCE G. KAUFFMANN
Pittsburgh
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