What, exactly, did Thomas Jefferson mean by “a wall of separation between church & State”? I can’t say, exactly. Neither can anyone else. I can give you my thoughts on the subject and try to keep those thoughts in line with what I know about Mr. Jefferson.
All three posts this week are devoted to this subject.
– Part 1, on April 16, was the Danbury Baptist Association’s letter to Jefferson.
– Part 2, on April 18, was Jefferson’s reply.
– Part 3, today, April 20, are observations about both letters.
Let’s consider the Baptists first -
1. Baptists, along with Episcopalians and Quakers, were religious minorities in Connecticut. The Congregational Church was the “official” tax-supported, attendance-required religion.
2. Connecticut did not have a constitution as such but relied on their “Fundamental Orders,” an English charter dating from 1638-9.
3. Whatever religious freedoms the Baptists enjoyed were granted by the Congregationalist-dominated government as privileges, not fundamental rights.
4. Baptists claimed Congregationalists sought “power & gain” by mixing “government & Religion,” a process that excluded them.
5. They wanted President Jefferson to bring to Connecticut the same religious freedom, the dis-establishment of the state church, that he helped bring to Virginia 15 years before.
Now, to Mr. Jefferson -
1. He agreed with them on religion being a personal and private matter, where government had no legitimate authority.
2. When he wrote, “that act of the whole American people,” he was referring to that portion of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that decreed that Congress could “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof …”
3. He claimed that language built “a wall of separation between Church & State.”
Some observations -
1. The U.S. Constitution does not contain any language about “a wall of separation.”
2. The phrase or the idea behind it predated Jefferson. Others used those words, too. It was many years later before that phrase began to show up in court rulings involving religion.
3. The religious freedom granted by the First Amendment was a national guarantee, limiting what the Congress could do. States were still free to do as they wished. Connecticut kept their state-supported church until 1818. It wasn’t until the 14th Amendment was adopted in the aftermath of the Civil War that constitutional amendments came to be binding on states.
4. While agreeing with the Baptists’ position and acknowledging their plight, he respectfully declined to interfere with what he thought was a state matter. (See the 10th Amendment)
5. Here’s the rub today: Is that wall IMpenetrable from both directions or only one?
- Some say both, that government can’t dictate religious choices to individuals, and individuals can’t bring religious influences to bear on government.
- Others say that wall is impenetrable from one direction only, no government dictates but individuals may bring whatever influences what they want.
6. I think Jefferson would say that wall is impenetrable from only one direction. Here’s why:
- The “wall” was based on the First Amendment, which limited government action only. That amendment placed no restriction on individuals.
- The whole idea behind the first ten amendments, the Bill of Rights, was to protect citizens from their government. There are no amendments “protecting” the government from its citizens.
- Another right guaranteed by the First Amendment, though not referenced by Jefferson in this letter, was “Congress shall make no law … abridging … the right of the people … to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” That weighs in favor of a semi-penetrable wall: Government can’t meddle with religion, free speech, free press, peaceful assembly, and the right to petition. Individuals can meddle with government, and are encouraged to do so by those very guarantees, provided they don’t use those freedoms to restrict others’ rights.
- Very simply, the wall was to keep government out of religion, not religion out of government.
7. Consider the U.S. Capitol. Its walls were carved with religious inscriptions. Chapel services were held there regularly, and Jefferson attended. Even now, Congress begins its daily deliberations with a chaplain’s prayer. While the United States was not established as a Christian nation, religious influences were abundant in its founding.
Jefferson encouraged and supported moral influences. He would have objected if those influences were limited to Episcopalians or Quakers or Christians in general or Muslims or Native Americans. He would open the doors and welcome all of those and more, for whatever positive moral influence they could contribute.
8. Remember, the Danbury Baptists warned about those “who seek after power & gain under the pretense of government & Religion … those who wish to rise to wealth & importance on the poverty and subjection of the people.” That was Jefferson’s concern, combining the power of government with religion. That is what the “wall of separation” was to prevent.
WHEW!
Your comments are welcome!
Your rights matter, Part 3.
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