Congressional Meddling In Religion Violates Church-State Separation, Says Americans United


Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Politicians Should Stick To Legislating And Leave Decisions About Religion To Individual Americans, Says AU's Lynn

A group of U.S. lawmakers that today urged Americans to get “back to prayer” should stop meddling in religion and get back to work, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

At noon, U.S. Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) and congressional allies held a press conference at the Capitol to “officially call America back to prayer and encourage people to sign up to pray for our nation for five minutes each week.”

Said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, “Lawmakers should stick to their constitutional duties and leave religious decisions to individuals. Congressional meddling in religion is an affront to the First Amendment principle of church-state separation. Religion is too important to become a political football.”

Lynn noted that the nation’s Founding Fathers were against mixing religion and government.

James Madison, often referred to as the Father of the Constitution, noted in 1788, “There is not a shadow of right in the general government to intermeddle with religion. Its least interference with it, would be a most flagrant usurpation.”

“There are a host of political issues of utmost importance to Americans,” said Lynn. “Rep. Forbes and other members of Congress should work on those and leave decisions about religion to the American people.”

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

A story on the subject:
http://washingtontimes.com/culture/2...2503-7620r.htm

I'm an agnostic, but the Congress critters are free to speak their minds on belief. As long as that's all they do, and don't try to incorporate their religion into law. Which they're not.

I thought this was pretty funny, though:

Not to make fun of the guy's faith, but I've never understood the conflation of belief with nationalism. Individual salvation I get. But what makes him think God gives a rip about the United States as opposed to, say, Belgium or India?

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Man up.

That's one problem with a religious world view, among others.

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"I'm also not very analytical. You know I don't spend a lot of time thinking about myself, about why I do things." --June 4, 2003
Take a wild guess as to who this is by...

I think it's more a flaw of the nationalistic worldview. If it wasn't God, it would be some other social construction of sacred value.

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"It's never over... BOY!"
The Tall Man, Phantasm III

The gods are never too busy to be granting powerups to sports teams and nations.

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"When I'm in command, every mission is a suicide mission!" -Capt. Zapp Branigan
The United Church of the Latter Day Tangential Tarts

Members of Congress are free to express their religious sentiments. However, God's law not to render to Caesar what belongs to God is violated when the civil magistrate assumes authority over the prayers of the people.

Prayer recommendations by civil magistrates are fruit of the poison tree of civil authority over religion. Although recommendations only, they imply a religious agency, making no part of the trust delegated to political rulers.

The members of Congress can in no sense, be regarded as possessing an advisory trust from their Constituents in their religious capacities. They cannot form an ecclesiastical Assembly, Convocation, Council, or Synod, and as such issue decrees or injunctions addressed to the faith or the Consciences of the people. In their individual capacities, as distinct from their official station, they might unite in recommendations of any sort whatever, in the same manner as any other individuals might do. But then their recommendations ought to express the true character from which they emanate.

The Congressman's prayer advice implies and certainly nourishes the evil idea of a national religion. The idea is too apt to lurk in the bosoms even of Americans.

It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our religious liberties. Prudent jealousy of the rights of conscience is perhaps the primary duty of citizens of a free republic, and one of the noblest characteristics of the American people.

We ought not wait until usurped power has strengthened itself by exercise, and entangled the question in precedents. We must see see all the consequences in the principle, and avoid the consequences by denying the principle.

I hear what you're saying, and even some of our Founding Fathers agreed with your view, declining to recommend days of prayer to avoid even the appearance of government support for prayer.

But I don't go that far. Congress critters are as free as you or me to call for a day of prayer. I'm free to ignore them.

What they are NOT free to do, IMO, is pass a resolution declaring a national day of prayer.

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Man up.

Why are you so willing to let the government assume recommendatory authority over religion, but not the authority to use coercion. What, in your view, is the fundamental principle of the right of conscience? What theory of religious liberty denies the civil magistrate authority to advise, but not to use the sword, in matters of religion. Why do you draw the line between the thing that are God's and those of Caesar, to give Caesar what is clearly one of the things that God has authority? Namely, prayer?

[quote="FredFlash";p="357088"]We need laws that punish any Congressman or other civil magistrate who trespasses upon the jurisdiction of God. The offense under discussion, should be a misdemeanor punished, upon the first conviction, by a fine equal to 1/12 of his annual salary.