First I would like to give a very short civics lesson on the particular part of the Constitution of the United Stated that happens to deal with religion. That would be the first 16 words of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights called the establishment clause and the last part called the exercise clause.
What 1st Amendment Actually Says
What the First Amendment actually states is "Congress (the legislative body) shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This simple statement means that the federal government is prohibited from establishing a church, like the Catholic Church in England at the time, or from getting in the way of the established churches of the states. Several states, focusing on that time, already had state supported religions that had already been established.
No Separation of Church and State
Now if you happen to notice, with a focus on clarity, no where in this short statement does it say a wit about the separation of church and state in the First Amendment! This is something that judicial activists on the Supreme Court, ACLU lawyers, the secular culture, and the left wing press have embraced as the separation of church and state according to the Constitution. But when you read it it says nothing of the kind.
James Madison Key Architect
If we go back in time to June 8th, 1789, James Madison, one of the key architects of the Constitution, is putting forth a proposal that will become the religion clause of the First Amendment. The final argument being stated, "He apprehended the meaning of the words to be, that Congress shall not establish a religion, and enforce the legal observation of it by law, nor compel men to worship God in any manner contrary to their conscience." This is exactly why the Puritans came to America in the first place was to escape the tyranny of Great Britain's compulsory state religion.
More debate ensued till we finally reached the final version that stated, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
Activist Judges
Now that we have seen what went on back in the day do we really believe that our founding fathers wanted to make children into criminals by saying Merry Christmas in a public school setting? That our founding fathers, through activists Supreme Court judges, actually intended to outlaw school prayer in the nation's learning establishments when all of their own congressional sessions to this very day are opened with a daily prayer? Of course not!
Thanksgiving Day Prayer Offered
On Sept. 25th, 1789, Representative Elias Boudinot proposed a resolution asking President George Washington to issue a national thanksgiving Day Proclamation and having been passed two weeks later it was proclaimed by George Washington when he stated, "Now, therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th of November, to be devoted by the people of these United States to the service of that great and glorious being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may all unite to render unto him our sincere and humble thanks for his kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable inter-positions of his providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which he has pleased to confer on us."
These inspiring words go on for yet another paragraph from the father of our country, but no doubt would have been met with a civil suit from the ACLU had that group been around back then.
Looking Closely at What Transpired
So let's take a good look at what was really transpiring in the 18th century, the era of the Revolutionary War, the time of the writing of the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution, when Christianity ruled America completely.
There were days of fasting in the Continental Congress that were designated for prayer, there were other religious observances, also money was appropriated to fund congressional chaplains, and funds were made available to pay Christian missionaries to help convert the many Indian tribes to Christianity.
Six of the original 13 states had churches that were supported by the state including Georgia, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. These states collectively stated that they would not approve the new national Constitution unless there was provided a prohibition of federal tinkering with their states ongoing establishments of religion. Other states would not support it unless elected officials were true Christians.
There was in 1977 a time when the Revolutionary War was a threat to the flow of Bibles from England. There was a purchase made by the Congress of 20,000 bibles that were imported from Holland to give away to the states.
Government Heavily Involved
So as you can discern from this articles findings the states were very heavily involved in the church functionality and the church also played a vital role in seeing that there elected officials were Christians and upheld the newly written Constitution and Bill of Rights. There wasn't any undermining of Christian views, or progressive secularist around prodding the ACLU to file disruptive lawsuits to disenfranchise the Christian way of life.
Conclusion
Today the more you object to government intrusion the more investigations are spotlighted on you through IRS audits. If you run a church they will check your records to see if you support a certain politician and try to shut you down if you do. If you stand up for your beliefs they will slander you endlessly with false statements about your character, what you believe, and go after your money with frivolous lawsuits where you still have to pay a lawyer to prove your case. As someone once said back in the day, these are times that try a man's soul. Stand for what you believe, the progressive secularists do.
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