The Separation of Thomas Jefferson and the Constitution 12/21/08

There's nothing that irks me more than someone arguing their case of First Amendment abuse as separation of church and state. After all, it's written in the Constitution.

Of course, being the genius I am, am within every legal right to smack him (or her) upside the head and say, "FAIL!"

The term "Separation of church and state" was first coined by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to the Danbury Baptists. His actual reference was how the First Amendment creates a "wall of separation" between the two entities.

The only way I can illustrate this point is with alternate history...

The year is 2008. The moral decline of the nation is quickly becoming #1 concern on everyone's mind. Even over the economy, War in Iraq, and terrorism (go figure). After all, it's amoralism that caused all these things.

The country quickly converts. A new political party springs up, for lack of a better name, it's called the Christian Party. They vow to win the War honorably, recover the economy with integrity, and return the nation's morality to accepatble standards. Their candidate is the illustrious (roll your eyes here) Mike Huckabee.

Despite being a third party, most Americans are tired of the oligarchy the Democrats and Republicans have created. So the Christian Party wins an electoral majority. Here's our first roadblock: can they do that?

Can a Political Party (a Faction, to use Madison's word) that identifies itself as religiously oriented be elected to any office above the state level? To put it simply: yes. Article VI of the Constitution states, "... no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."

So... we can't have a polygraph test for a President (or Senator, Representative, etc.) to admit that he's an atheist. After all, 537 Congressmen (out of 538) are self-proclaimed non-atheists (including Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Mormons, and a Muslim). So in reality, a man who's party is dedicated to Christian principles CAN become President.

Christian President Huckabee is elected to office. He starts prosecuting the war, running plans through Congress to fix the economy, and then tries fixing morality by proposing laws to Congress. What kind of laws can Congress pass?

Well, assuming Congress is now a Christian majority, Congress can pass any law. Including (but not limited to) for example, closing the doors of every Mosque in America to "help fight terrorism."

The problem with this is that it violates the First Amendment. In a matter of days, a Muslim will get arrested for trying to open the doors to a mosque. He'll demand a quick and speedy trial, bring his case all the way to the Supreme Court, and the law will be shot down. Muslims can attend worship freely again.

How? How on Patrick Henry can a religious party legally get elected? When the Pilgrims first came to Massachusetts, their grievance was with the fact that the English government wasn't allowing them to worship in the ways they wanted to. The founders of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland and Pennsylvania faced similar influences. Massachusetts, being one of the leading states in the Revolutionary War, almost completely rejected the Constitution without a Bill of Rights.

The First Amendment reads these exact words, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; ..."

This clause was put in the First Amendment to keep the government out of religion, not vice versa.

But there's a measure of common sense to bring up in this. The above scenario sounds ridiculous. Doesn't it? Do you think there will ever be a 51% majority of people in the nation who would vote for a religiously oriented political party?

And I'm sure someone will come on here and say, "They do all the time: the Republicans!" Well if the Republican Party was... then there wouldn't be a branch called the "Secular Right."

As I've just demostrated, even a religious political party couldn't ruin your own religious expression. No Congress, and no Supreme Court would ever allow it.

Case closed.

12/21/08