In examining the role of religion in politics, we need to acknowledge not just the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment, we should also look at conversation between the Danbury Church and Thomas Jefferson, The Constitution, and a line from Jefferson's 1801 inaugural speech. We will look at the conversation first. In 2nd paragraph of its letter to Thomas Jefferson after he became President, the letter from the Danbury Church said the following (click here for the source):
'Our sentiments are uniformly on the side of religious liberty: that Religion is at all times and places a matter between God and individuals, that no man ought to suffer in name, person, or effects on account of his religious opinions, [and] that the legitimate power of civil government extends no further than to punish the man who works ill to his neighbor. But sir, our constitution of government is not specific. Our ancient charter, together with the laws made coincident therewith, were adapted as the basis of our government at the time of our revolution. And such has been our laws and usages, and such still are, [so] that Religion is considered as the first object of Legislation, and therefore what religious privileges we enjoy (as a minor part of the State) we enjoy as favors granted, and not as inalienable rights. And these favors we receive at the expense of such degrading acknowledgments, as are inconsistent with the rights of freemen. It is not to be wondered at therefore, if those who seek after power and gain, under the pretense of government and Religion, should reproach their fellow men, [or] should reproach their Chief Magistrate, as an enemy of religion, law, and good order, because he will not, dares not, assume the prerogative of Jehovah and make laws to govern the Kingdom of Christ.'
The 2nd paragraph of Jefferson's response is most pertinent here (the link to the this source is the same as the above link):
'Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature would “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church and State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.'
The Establishment clause from the 1st Amendment is displayed below (click here to see the source)
'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof'
Before discussing the issue, we should note that the very end of the Danbury letter seems to be at least a little prophetic to what has been happening in America today.
We should note that the Danbury letter expressed a concern that the then current legislation seemed, to them, that one's ability to practice a religion was relegated to be a 'favor' rather than an 'inalienable right.' This provides the context for Jefferson's response.
Similar to what was expressed in the letter, Jefferson acknowledged that the government can only target 'actions' and not 'opinions.' So we see that with both the Danbury letter and Jefferson's response government could address actions. But the question becomes what, or perhaps whose, criteria is the government using to determine when to intervene in human affairs. That is the question on which our government's past response to slavery and Jim Crow laws and practices was responding to. It is also the question on which government's duty to respond to abortion revolves around. And what or whose criteria is the question that the debate over Christian Nationalism is concerned with.
At this point, enter the work of Martin Luther King Jr. and his SCLC. in the 1950s and 1960s. They spoke of and worked for equality for all people. And they did so from their religious beliefs. But it wasn't just political equality that they promoted; it was an equality in outcomes. That latter point was made by King in his 1967 interview with Xander Vanocur (clickhere to see that interview).
Now when we look back at those days, how many people complained about the Church influencing the government? The answer to that question is complicated because the American Church has always been divided about racial equality and was on both sides of the racial divide. But we should note that because King and the SCLC spoke and worked for equality rather than a privileged place for themselves and their religion, their work was not seen as a violation of the separation between Chuch and State
We should note that the mission of King and the SCLC is supported by Section 1 of the 14th Amendment. Thus, equality, that is 'equal protection of the laws,' became the measuring stick that the government could use to intervene or be prevented from acting was equality. So we should not just note, but emphasize too, that King and the SCLC were working for the welfare themselves and some other marginalized groups.
That brings us to today and the desire of many of my fellow religiously conservative Christians to be the sole provider of rules that determine when the government can either intervene or be prevented from doing so. Many of those Christians are called Christian Nationalists. But there are also some Christians who are not Christian Nationalists who, to a lesser degree, want to provide rules to determine government intervention.
Christian Nationalists tend to argue that because they hold to the same faith that many of the founders had of America, they deserve a greater voice in determining what laws the government should pass. They also say that America was founded to be a Christian nation. And so, again, they should have a greater, or perhaps the only, voice in determining the laws of the nation. And that brings up the question of whom the government should be representing. Should the government represent only Christians or Christians more than unbelievers or should the government represent all of its citizens?
The problem with the Christian Nationalist views is that citizenship in America is not defined by one's beliefs but by federal laws and The Constitution. Citizenship is determined by the location of one's birth, the citizenship of one's parents, or meeting requirements for becoming citizens. The Constitution gives no leeway for ranking American citizens except that only those born in the U.S. can become President.
Yes, Christians influenced the culture of America greatly during its early days. And many states, as stipulated in their state constitutions, favored Christian leadership over their states. But The Constitution did not do so. In fact, as can be ascertained from the Constitutional debates, religion played little to no role in the Constitutional definition of America. In fact, a deliberate distancing of the Federal government from religion was a feature both in The Constitution and in the debates that helped determine its contents.
But something else should be noted about America's early days that was heavily influenced by Christianity. That influence was determined by demographics. Because Christendom existed throughout America's early until around half of the 20th century, many people saw themselves as being Christians though lifestyles or beliefs may not have confirmed that conviction. And so the biggest factor that determined America's past direction was demographics. Thus we have to ask why should Christians have the dominant voice over our government today when the demographics have changed. Should past demographics mean that those who meet the legal definition of citizenship are not real citizens because they hold to different values and beliefs than our founders had?
Those who hold to Christian Nationalism would answer that last question with a firm 'yes.' And that is because, with their definition of what it means to be an American, the definition of America is fixed throughout time regardless of any changes in the values and beliefs of the people. And so those who do not hold to what Americans from the past hold to are not American enough to matter in terms of influencing the government.
What we have with the Christian Nationalist viewpoint is the tyranny of past demographics. According to them, it isn't what our founding documents said that defines us and determines our path, it is compliance with dominant religious views from the past.
We also need to pay attention to those non Christian Nationalists who use terms like 'moral law' or 'natural law' to obligate those in government to pass laws that are based on a unique Christian view. In particular, laws that would marginalize those from the LGBT community are based on the moral and natural laws. We should note here is that there are multiple versions of natural law. And so, to a lesser degree, we see the Church having undue influence on government's making of laws. And their justification for pursuing this undue influence is the view of the role of government officials that was held to in the past during Christendom.
And so we've seen two kinds of Christian influences on our government. One kind saw a Christian influence that advocated for the marginalized, others as well as themselves. It attempted to lift up themselves and others to an equal place in society. The other kind of sees a Christian influence that is self-promoting while arguing for hierarchy. They want to lift themselves up above all others in society. And that brings us to our final quote. In his 1801 Inaugural Address, Thomas Jefferson said the following (click here for the source):
'All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression'
And so the one kind of Christian influence, which consists of Martin Luther King Jr. and the SCLC, was working for justice and the other kind, the current kind, of Christian influence, which consists of Christian Nationalists and some other authoritarian Christisns, is working for Jefferson's view of oppression. This latter influence is telling us that the State cannot properly function unless it is in control. Is it any wonder then that, today, many are arguing for a separation of Church and State in response to the latter kind's influence?
