Read the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution
Even better, carry a pocket version with you when engaging with those who attempt to impose a revisionist history of these historical
The separation of the institutions of religion and government is embedded into our country’s founding documents. While the Declaration of Independence references a divine Creator, the Constitution on which our country was founded does not. In fact, the only references to religion in the Constitution are Article VI, clause 3 which states that “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”
The First Amendment reads:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Writing later to a group of Baptists, Thomas Jefferson famously wrote:
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.
It is for the benefit of both government and religious institutions that neither relies on the other. Government intrusion into religious beliefs and practice are a threat to faith communities. Likewise, governments that use religion to govern are some of the most oppressive governments throughout history.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King noted the ideal relationship between these institutions when he said:
The church must be reminded once again that it is not to be the master or the servant of the state, but the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state,—never its tool.
Today, those who adhere to the ideology of Christian nationalism want to rewrite our country’s history in order to establish a new Christendom. They want to lift up a fundamentalist version of Christianity and have the government force it upon all people. We the People must stand united against this.
Even better, carry a pocket version with you when engaging with those who attempt to impose a revisionist history of these historical
And fight the efforts by Christian nationalists there especially the adoption of Christian supremacist curriculum, putting chaplains in schools and efforts to
Become involved with these organizations to stay up to date on the court battles around the separation of church and state. Americans