commitments of a self-governing republic.
Government control over religion historically resulted in a system of âcrony clericalismâ in which professional clergy fell prey to the temptations of unchecked power and personal greed. This typically led to tyranny, the suffocation of religious liberty, and the snuffing out of every other freedom, as the Founders understood. Paul Johnson described how the first Americans utterly rejected this model:
If there was one characteristic which distinguished [America] from the startâwhich made it quite unlike any part of Europe and constituted its uniqueness in factâit was the absence of any kind of clericalism. Clergymen there were, and often very good ones, who enjoyed the esteem and respect of their congregations by virtue of their piety and preachfulness. But whatever nuance of Protestantism they served, and including Catholic priests when they in due course arrived, none of them enjoyed a special status, in law or anything else, by virtue of their clerical rank. Clergy spoke with authority from their altars and pulpits, but their power ended at the churchyard gate. 6
Instead of looking to entrenched clergy to define religious doctrine, early Americans studied the Bible themselves to learn spiritual truth first-hand. To defend this tradition, they needed a political system that protected the right to discover truth, to openly exchange ideas, and to dissent. This is the foundation of freedom of conscience, which protects believers and non-believers alike.
For this reason, more than any other American habit of liberty, religious liberty is the cornerstone of American freedom and the guiding force that makes America exceptional. The freedom to know and pursue God is not a Republican or Democratic value; neither is it liberal or conservative. It is a universal thirst written into the heart of every person.
Only when a government is firmly committed to the defense of this liberty can religious vibrancy and moral strength be cultivated in a nation. A government that fails to respect the dignity of every person, beginning
first and foremost with their freedom of conscience and religious liberty, surrenders its rightful authority to govern, if it ever had it in the first place.
It bears noting that a commitment to religious pluralismâor affording every individualâs religious beliefs the equal protection of the lawâis not the same as saying all beliefs are equal. Tolerating a differing opinion does not make that opinion true, but it does respect the right of the individual to possess it, and it trusts in the equal ability and right of every person to discern truth for himself.
Radical secularists often seek to undermine the moral legitimacy of Americaâs religious heritage by pointing to occasions in our history when we Americans have failed to live up to our own idealsâwhether in the case of slavery, the denial of civil rights, or other instances in which our historic commitment to liberty for all was radically compromised by other political agendas and pursuits.
But in each of these instances, it was our very commitment to moral and religious principle, to an authority and law higher than our own, that impelled us to self-correct and to use our greatest mistakes as the greatest opportunities to reassert the dignity of every human being and the cause of human freedom.
America has indeed endured moments that tested our commitment to freedom and individual dignity, and other moments when we abandoned those core principles in exchange for a more expedient or utilitarian course. But much of what makes America an exceptional nation is that it was in some of those darkest times that America reclaimed its self-evident truths and redeemed, sometimes at great cost, the principle that all people are indeed created equal and endowed with equal dignity and worth.
AMERICA AWAKENS
Almost every middle school student receives at least a tacit introduction
Government control over religion historically resulted in a system of âcrony clericalismâ in which professional clergy fell prey to the temptations of unchecked power and personal greed. This typically led to tyranny, the suffocation of religious liberty, and the snuffing out of every other freedom, as the Founders understood. Paul Johnson described how the first Americans utterly rejected this model:
If there was one characteristic which distinguished [America] from the startâwhich made it quite unlike any part of Europe and constituted its uniqueness in factâit was the absence of any kind of clericalism. Clergymen there were, and often very good ones, who enjoyed the esteem and respect of their congregations by virtue of their piety and preachfulness. But whatever nuance of Protestantism they served, and including Catholic priests when they in due course arrived, none of them enjoyed a special status, in law or anything else, by virtue of their clerical rank. Clergy spoke with authority from their altars and pulpits, but their power ended at the churchyard gate. 6
Instead of looking to entrenched clergy to define religious doctrine, early Americans studied the Bible themselves to learn spiritual truth first-hand. To defend this tradition, they needed a political system that protected the right to discover truth, to openly exchange ideas, and to dissent. This is the foundation of freedom of conscience, which protects believers and non-believers alike.
For this reason, more than any other American habit of liberty, religious liberty is the cornerstone of American freedom and the guiding force that makes America exceptional. The freedom to know and pursue God is not a Republican or Democratic value; neither is it liberal or conservative. It is a universal thirst written into the heart of every person.
Only when a government is firmly committed to the defense of this liberty can religious vibrancy and moral strength be cultivated in a nation. A government that fails to respect the dignity of every person, beginning
first and foremost with their freedom of conscience and religious liberty, surrenders its rightful authority to govern, if it ever had it in the first place.
It bears noting that a commitment to religious pluralismâor affording every individualâs religious beliefs the equal protection of the lawâis not the same as saying all beliefs are equal. Tolerating a differing opinion does not make that opinion true, but it does respect the right of the individual to possess it, and it trusts in the equal ability and right of every person to discern truth for himself.
Radical secularists often seek to undermine the moral legitimacy of Americaâs religious heritage by pointing to occasions in our history when we Americans have failed to live up to our own idealsâwhether in the case of slavery, the denial of civil rights, or other instances in which our historic commitment to liberty for all was radically compromised by other political agendas and pursuits.
But in each of these instances, it was our very commitment to moral and religious principle, to an authority and law higher than our own, that impelled us to self-correct and to use our greatest mistakes as the greatest opportunities to reassert the dignity of every human being and the cause of human freedom.
America has indeed endured moments that tested our commitment to freedom and individual dignity, and other moments when we abandoned those core principles in exchange for a more expedient or utilitarian course. But much of what makes America an exceptional nation is that it was in some of those darkest times that America reclaimed its self-evident truths and redeemed, sometimes at great cost, the principle that all people are indeed created equal and endowed with equal dignity and worth.
AMERICA AWAKENS
Almost every middle school student receives at least a tacit introduction
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