For our libertarian friend Chris. Jefferson and the Bill of Rights[edit] Main articles: Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, whose letter to the Danbury Baptists Association is often quoted in debates regarding the separation of church and state. In English, the exact term is an offshoot of the phrase, wall of separation between church and state, as written in Thomas Jeffersons letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802. In that letter, referencing the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Jefferson writes: Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.[15] Jefferson was describing to the Baptists that the United States Bill of Rights prevents the establishment of a national church, and in so doing they did not have to fear government interference in their manner of worship. The Bill of Rights was one of the earliest examples in the world of complete religious freedom (adopted in 1791, only preceded by the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789). However, the Bill of Rights contains no separation of church and state, only a limitation placed upon the Unites States Congress preventing it from establishing a national religion. The metaphor was used as an interpretation of meaning for the religious clauses of the First Amendment in the late 1800s and more commonly in the late 20th century. Scholarly research has often pointed to the fact that Jefferson was not present in the Congress that wrote the Bill of Rights, and that the intent must come from those legislators present, who did not discuss or use any concept of separation between church and state. The framers had intended to leave religious matters to the states, which continue to hold that prerogative.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Jun 2014 01:50:46 +0000
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