Recently a column appeared in The Dallas Morning News written by Bill Baumbach, bemoaning a supposed violation of another supposition, the fictional concept of separation of church and state.
The...
Recently a column appeared in The Dallas Morning News written by Bill Baumbach, bemoaning a supposed violation of another supposition, the fictional concept of separation of church and state.
The term "separation of church and state" can not be found anywhere in the United States Constitution as written at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, attended by 55 delegates. The First Amendment to the Constitution reads in part,
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;.."
The term "separation of church and state," was taken from a letter President Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1802. Here is a link to the text of that letter:
It should be noted Thomas Jefferson was not one of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, he was in France when the Constitution was being written.
President George Washington who was a delegate to that Convention deeply believed in God and the relationship with such belief in government, as he wrote,
"It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible."
"What students would learn in American schools above all is the religion of Jesus Christ."
John Adams believed morality could not exist without religion. In a speech to the military in 1798, he claimed, "our Constitution is made only for a moral and religious people."
Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1815: "religion, as well as reason, confirms the soundness of those principles on which our government has been founded and its rights asserted."
Separation of church and state constitution Thomas Jefferson George Washington Danbury Baptists Founding Fathers religious freedom Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof John Adams Articles of Confederation preamble Declaration of Independence propaganda buster propagandabuster public school atheist atheism heathens
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Mr. Jefferson was no fan of religion. He said that he didn't care whether his neighbor believed in twenty gods or no god. That hardly sounds like an advocate of mandatory school prayer.
The First Amendment does not say that "Government shall not respect the establishment of religion." The Amendment says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." If this gentleman would read the words of Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madison, he would find that they both opposed government giving money to religion. Mr. Madison vetoed a bill that would have given money to a church to help the poor because the thought it was an establishment of religion.
Your butchering of the First Amendment in your video by saying "Government shall not respect the establishment of religion" hardly permits you to condemn me for merely citing the Establishment Clause, which was what I was referencing.
Also, my reference to mandatory prayer was to Mr. Jefferson's notions that he did not care about the religious beliefs of his neighbors. I did not indicate that you want mandatory prayer. I simply said Mr. Jefferson probably would not be an advocate of it.
The single greatest threat the US faces is being warped and twisted by religious zealots who want to morph the secular government envisioned by the founding fathers into a theocracy. The Fundies already trampled on the national currency after the civil war and ruined the pledge in the 1950's. Even the church-attending element of the founding fathers would be outraged at the trespasses in the name of "God." You want a theocracy -- move to the Middle East; don't bring it here.
MANDATORY prayer, on the other hand is - a teacher or a principal cannot lead a prayer on behalf of the school, but nobody can't tell you not to pray by yourself/-selves
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"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;"
Also, please show me where in this video I advocate mandatory school prayer as you seem to indicate I did.
Also, my reference to mandatory prayer was to Mr. Jefferson's notions that he did not care about the religious beliefs of his neighbors. I did not indicate that you want mandatory prayer. I simply said Mr. Jefferson probably would not be an advocate of it.
MANDATORY prayer, on the other hand is - a teacher or a principal cannot lead a prayer on behalf of the school, but nobody can't tell you not to pray by yourself/-selves
But, what does praying have to do with learning? Pray at home or church.