Freedom for and from religion

Overlooking Virginia’s Blue Ridge mountains, Thomas Jefferson’s grave is located downhill from his beloved home, Monticello. Jefferson was the second governor of Virginia, a member of the Continental Congress, the first Secretary of State, our second vice-president, and the third president. And yet, these accomplishments are not listed on his grave marker. Instead, his monument is inscribed, “Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom & Father of the University of Virginia.’” Jefferson said, “because by these, as testimonials that I have lived, I wish most to be remembered.”

In 1786, the Virginia General Assembly passed the Statute for Religious Freedom, that no person can be compelled to attend a particular church, support an established religion through taxation, or be discriminated against in any way because of faith or religious beliefs. Jefferson was reacting against the tradition of the state-established Church of England and in his own state of Virginia. Jefferson’s Statute for Religious Freedom was the main motivation behind the freedom of religion clause in the First Amendment of the American Constitution. In 1802, Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury, Connecticut Baptist Convention in which he used the illustration of a “wall of separation” to describe his strongly held belief in limiting the influence of religious denominations and leaders in national government.

While Jefferson intended his Statute for Religious Freedom to provide for both freedom to practice one’s religion and freedom from the establishment of any one particular religion, many Christians today complain that the idea of the separation of church and state is a direct attack on their beliefs, traditions, and practices. However, as J. Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, has written, “To say God has been banished from the public square is also a huge misconception. The institutional separation of church and state does not mean the segregation of religion from politics or God from government or strip the right of people of faith to speak forcefully in the public square. It only means government cannot pass laws that have the primary purpose or effect that advances religion.” He ends his article with this claim that many people will surely argue with, “The separation of church and state is good for both!”

Our U.S. form of government is based on the idea that the majority rules, but always with the responsibility of protecting the rights of all people, including those in the minority. According to the Pew Research Center, approximately two-thirds of American adults identify as Christian. It is important for Christians to be involved in the important issues that affect our communities, while safeguarding the rights and freedoms of our neighbors. When we commit to the idea of the separation of church and state in its truest sense and demonstrate through our actions our deepest faith beliefs, we can say with Thomas Jefferson, “because by these, as testimonials that I have lived, I wish most to be remembered.”

Philip Gladden is a retired minister who lives in Wallace.