On the separation of Church and State

The Illinois Reader recently ran a letter to the editor in rebuttal to several readers who'd written in claiming that America is a Christian nation. Robert Carver in Massachusetts responded in a sober, rational, well thought-out piece, explaining that many of the quotes used to support the idea that the Founding Fathers wanted the US to be a Christian nation are from people who were either living in a different time than the Founding Fathers or who may have lived during the time that the Constitution and Bill of Rights were written, but had no part in their creation. He then offers a number of quotes from Jefferson, Madison and others involved in drafting our governing documents. It is an excellent piece and I highly recommend it. My favourite part, from near the end, is quoted below - but be sure to go to the site and read the entire letter.

You are free to attend any church you desire, to pray anytime you wish, to read any religious text that interests you. You may post the Ten Commandments anywhere on your property, in your house, on your car and advertised on a T-shirt. Some people can actually try to live by them rather than forcing them on others. You have several radio stations, cable channels, publications and Internet sites all dedicated to religious messages, covering all beliefs. You have the right to raise your children in the belief system of your choosing, to speak to others about what you hold to be true and to decide for yourself which religion is right for you or even if no religion is right for you.

So ask yourself why does your God need the help of the government? Does he really need state welfare to succeed? Benjamin Franklin sums up the issue of governmental involvement in religion quite well. He stated, "When a religion is good, I conceive it will support itself; and when it does not support itself, and God does not take care to support it, so that its professors are obliged to call for help of a civil power, ‘tis a sign, I apprehend of its being a bad one." (The Complete Works of Benjamin Franklin, editor John Bigelow, vol. 13)

So will you support the Constitution and our civil liberties by supporting the wall of separation between church and state, or do you believe your deity is so weak and in need of governmental assistance that you will follow revisionists like Angela Wittman in destroying our freedom?