America was founded on the values of the Jesuit Christian faith, and those that try and shut that out of American culture does so at the peril of the nation. History shows that Christian values are at the heart of America's founding fathers, documents, laws, and influences. The Separation between Church and State authority was meant to ensure this original intent of religion, so that government could never dominate over the church, or vice versa; not to separate commonly shared values. Through revisionist history however, our government has been used by some to erase our Christian heritage, especially in Education. "Without God there could be no American form of government nor an American way of life." If America wishes to keep intact its religious roots, we must re-awaken faith in our communities, so that we can live up to our national foundations.
Our nation is rooted in recognition of God, and exercises it through Christian Principles. God is mentioned in all of the documents leading up to our Constitution. Connecticut, called the "constitution state" because it was meant to set the tone for our U.S. Constitution, began with "For as much as it has pleased the almighty God by the wise disposition of His Divine Providence..." The very premise of our government, that all men were created with "unalienable rights" derived not from a government but from an eternal absolute was cited by many founders, including Benjamin Franklin and John Adams to be the same as "the general principles of Christianity." Our governmental framework also reflects these principles in having a judicial, legislature, and executive. Isaiah 33:22 states "For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king..." Our system of checks and balances has biblical references, just as our laws emanate from the Ten Commandments.
The U.S. Congress passed a resolution in 1782 "recommending and approving the Holy Bible for use in all schools." Their rationale is best explained in the 1892 Supreme Court ruling of Church of the Holy Trinity v. U.S. (citing 87 precedents), "Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of Mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian."
We see recognition of God everywhere in our society. "In God We Trust" is placed on our money and in Congress, an image of Moses rests in the House chamber, and the ten commandments are in the architecture of the Supreme Court. According to James Madison "We have staked the whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God." This was the explicit intent of our founding fathers, what they wanted to prevent was a governmental authority trying to remove the values of our founding out of the public arena.
Amendment One of the U.S. Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...." This directly comes from the original American colonists who came here seeking religious freedom. It allows religion to be practiced anywhere it is seen fit; church or temple, synagogue or mosque, without worrying about the government telling you how to. That is the purpose of this clause in the amendment. If the purpose was to take religion out of the public square, it might have been worded like this: "In order to ensure to citizens freedom of conscience, the church is separated from the State, and the school from the church.'' That's how it was worded in the 1918 Soviet Constitution. It made any religious related instruction, even the very mention of 'God' in a classroom, punishable by law. The phrase "separation of church and state" many believe to exist in the Constitution comes from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson and is used to ensure that government would not interfere in taking religion out of the public square. He made this clear because Jefferson, like our other Founding Fathers, believed freedom of religion came from the divine, not from the government. Religious freedom is why America was first founded, freedom to ensure these values could be heard and expressed. By taking away the ability for people to express their faith publicly, whatever that faith may be, America's heritage is taken away as well.
Sadly, we've seen the effects first hand. When the 1963 Supreme Court determined prayer in public schools was unconstitutional, and cited no precedents in doing so, the very mention of the word God in a classroom can get a shudder. It is ironic that the central value of our Founding Father's can hardly be brought into the education system which is supposed to re-enforce the values of civic responsibility and an appreciation for our history and heritage. If we wish to have a set, understood, and rooted heritage to pass on to our children, revisionist history when it comes to our faith is not beneficial at all.
What is crucial to the understanding of faith, and the perpetuation of Americas faith, is education. When the commonly shared values of America are expressed and taught in school, and then shown through communal involvement, it is passed on to future generations. Too much time is spent "questioning the answers" rather than understanding the answers.
We need to stop pretending we are ashamed to have the principles of the Christianity at the heart of our founding. When the first governor in the new world, John Winthrop, assumed his office in 1630, he believed that Americans were going "to create a city upon a hill" through their covenant with God. If we remained true to our "walk with God", Winthrop believed "We shall find that the God of Israel is among us, when 10 of us shall be able to resist a thousand of our enemies." The America we live in has been disillusioned by revisionist history, but its faith and Christian heritage are incontrovertible. The success of these values is the success of America as a compassionate, opportunity-filled place to live, and as a model for the world. While we as citizens may be disillusioned about our religious heritage, those that still come here as stowaways and risk their lives to reach this "city upon a hill" know this is the one place where religion, and their faith is allowed to be free. That is the essence of America, and keeping it active makes us "the last, best hope for earth."
Will Haun is a freshman in the School of Public Affairs, and a member of the Undergraduate Senate. Haun is one of The Eagle's conservative columnists.
