Dear Conservative Christian Neighbors,
I’ve been thinking about this Christian nation you seem committed to impose on our country. We may disagree about much, but here is one basic belief on which we both agree: our country should look to our Founders for guidance and advice as we make the significant decisions we are facing.
Let’s turn to the founding documents and writings our Founders gave us as their legacy. Both statesmen and religious leaders vigorously debated what should be the relationship between the established church and the government. Arguments can be found on both sides of the issue. But it was decided unequivocally.
For the betterment of both church and state, our Founders and religious leaders, especially but not exclusively Baptists, determined the church and state should be separate. They decided:
• in favor of the liberty of personal conscience
• against the establishment of a national religion
• against any religious test that would define a person’s right to citizenship • no federal government (and 14th amendment later, no state government) could abridge the liberty of conscience
• it was a basic natural right The Founders never assumed the country was a Christian nation, nor ever said that.
If originalism is as important to you as it is to me, then establishing Christianity as the official religion of the U.S. and declaring this to be a Christian nation is contrary to the Founders of our country. If you want to read their words for yourself, check out “The Separation of Church and State: Writings on a Fundamental Freedom by America’s Founders” (Forest Church, editor).
Sincerely, Priscilla Decker, Edmond James Williams, California
