American Dream.
ONE OUT OF MANY:THE REVOLUTIONARY AMERICAN MODEL OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM
The Founders knew that religious vibrancy in a free society is the surest bulwark against government corruption. And yet their method of promoting and protecting religious vibrancy was an exception to historical precedent. To understand why, one must first recall just how deeply and fervently committed the Founders were not to an abstract notion of faith, but to a faith that was explicitly Christian. Consider the following quotes by some of our most notable Founders, who not only openly articulated their own commitment to Christianity, but their belief that it was only a moral and religious people who could sustain a government of, by, and for the people:
⢠John Quincy Adams said that the Declaration of Independence âlaid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity.â 1
⢠The same Patrick Henry who proclaimed, âGive me liberty or give me deathâ also said, âIt cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.â 2
⢠John Adams said, âThe highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.â 3 He also declared, âWe have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and
religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.â 4
The Foundersâ distinctively Christian faith is well documented, as is their conviction that government must be infused with Christian principles. But they resisted the inclination to establish a Christian sect as the official church of the new nation or to impose religious tests to enforce an established church.
Why would men who believed the truths of Christianity were essential to living a moral life and were indispensable to a healthy civil society go to such great pains to ensure the institutions of religion remained separate from government?
History reveals two reasons. First, Christianity, particularly as understood in the post-Reformation era, teaches that every individual is endowed with the solemn dignity and free will to choose either to believe or not to believe. To the Christian, God âstands at the door and knocksâ; 5 He does not break the door down and forcibly enter. Truth is something that is offered to man and made available for him to voluntarily seek and discover. It is never something he is compelled to accept. It follows that a human government should aspire to do nothing more or less.
Thus our Founders believed that a government is not legitimate unless it is grounded in the principles of individual sovereignty and free will, which begin with freedom of conscience and religious liberty. Only a society that protects the dignity of every personâhis ability to believe or not to believe, to speak freely about his beliefs or to remain silent; his right to act according to the dictates of conscience; and ultimately, his prerogative to remain personally accountable to his Creator in each of those areasâcould be considered just or morally legitimate.
Second, the Founders knew that whenever there is a state-sponsored religion, the government tends to encroach upon, to increasingly regulate, and finally to dictate religious belief and expression. The government may do this directly, by usurping the right to conscience belonging solely to the individual, church, or religious institution, or indirectly, by gradually eroding the pillars of religious life that generate and strengthen the social vibrancy and moral
ONE OUT OF MANY:THE REVOLUTIONARY AMERICAN MODEL OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM
The Founders knew that religious vibrancy in a free society is the surest bulwark against government corruption. And yet their method of promoting and protecting religious vibrancy was an exception to historical precedent. To understand why, one must first recall just how deeply and fervently committed the Founders were not to an abstract notion of faith, but to a faith that was explicitly Christian. Consider the following quotes by some of our most notable Founders, who not only openly articulated their own commitment to Christianity, but their belief that it was only a moral and religious people who could sustain a government of, by, and for the people:
⢠John Quincy Adams said that the Declaration of Independence âlaid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity.â 1
⢠The same Patrick Henry who proclaimed, âGive me liberty or give me deathâ also said, âIt cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.â 2
⢠John Adams said, âThe highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.â 3 He also declared, âWe have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and
religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.â 4
The Foundersâ distinctively Christian faith is well documented, as is their conviction that government must be infused with Christian principles. But they resisted the inclination to establish a Christian sect as the official church of the new nation or to impose religious tests to enforce an established church.
Why would men who believed the truths of Christianity were essential to living a moral life and were indispensable to a healthy civil society go to such great pains to ensure the institutions of religion remained separate from government?
History reveals two reasons. First, Christianity, particularly as understood in the post-Reformation era, teaches that every individual is endowed with the solemn dignity and free will to choose either to believe or not to believe. To the Christian, God âstands at the door and knocksâ; 5 He does not break the door down and forcibly enter. Truth is something that is offered to man and made available for him to voluntarily seek and discover. It is never something he is compelled to accept. It follows that a human government should aspire to do nothing more or less.
Thus our Founders believed that a government is not legitimate unless it is grounded in the principles of individual sovereignty and free will, which begin with freedom of conscience and religious liberty. Only a society that protects the dignity of every personâhis ability to believe or not to believe, to speak freely about his beliefs or to remain silent; his right to act according to the dictates of conscience; and ultimately, his prerogative to remain personally accountable to his Creator in each of those areasâcould be considered just or morally legitimate.
Second, the Founders knew that whenever there is a state-sponsored religion, the government tends to encroach upon, to increasingly regulate, and finally to dictate religious belief and expression. The government may do this directly, by usurping the right to conscience belonging solely to the individual, church, or religious institution, or indirectly, by gradually eroding the pillars of religious life that generate and strengthen the social vibrancy and moral
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