“the general principles on which the fathers achieved ...



Francisco Castaneda

Mrs. Heather Ordover

ENGL 102-008

18 November 2008

Audience: Fellow Christians

Why Religion Matters

In the 232 years since the United States declared its independence, this country has experienced an unparalleled amount of prosperity in practically every conceivable facet of society. I need not support this claim by citing its military might, its abundance of resources, its citizens’ quality of life, their enormous wealth or their almost limitless freedoms. Libraries can be filled with volumes that have so extensively studied the source of this nation’s greatness and have concluded with many different views. It’s obvious that the United States has remained prosperous in large part to the structure of government established by the Founding Fathers so long ago. In addition to the separation of powers, the Bill of Rights and other fundamental philosophies, there is another aspect of the founding of the U.S. that has contributed the most of its prosperity; Religion.

What an awful word. Religion. Perhaps the leading cause of so many horrible acts in history, it’s so hard to argue that this religion I speak of can bring about any good. Yet the belief in the God of the Bible has no doubt affected this country so much that it’s all but impossible to mention its founding without it. Consider the University of Houston study, conducted by Donald Lutz (1984), that documented the sources of over 15,000 quotes used by the Founding Fathers during the American Revolution. It was found that 34% of the quotes were those directly from the Bible. That’s three times more than Montesquieu, six times more than Blackstone and twelve times more than Locke.

For the opening of the First Continental Congress, Rev. Jacob Duché (1774) was asked to lead the prayer as the first act of our soon-to-be government. Here is that prayer:

O - Lord our Heavenly Father, high and mighty King of kings, and Lord of lords, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers on earth and reignest with power supreme and uncontrolled over all the Kingdoms, Empires and Governments; look down in mercy, we beseech thee, on these our American States, who have fled to thee from the rod of the oppressor and thrown themselves on Thy gracious protection, desiring to be henceforth dependent only on Thee, to Thee have they appealed for the righteousness of their cause; to Thee do they now look up for that countenance and support, which Thou alone canst give; take them, therefore, Heavenly Father, under Thy nurturing care; give them wisdom in Council and valor in the field; defeat the malicious designs of our cruel adversaries; convince them of the unrighteousness of their Cause and if they persist in their sanguinary purposes, of own unerring justice, sounding in their hearts, constrain them to drop the weapons of war from their unnerved bands in the day of battle! Be Thou present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honorable assembly; enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation. That the scene of blood may be speedily closed; that order, harmony and peace may be effectually restored, and truth and justice, religion and piety, prevail and flourish amongst the people. Preserve the health of their bodies and vigor of their minds; shower down on them and the millions they here represent, such temporal blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world and crown them with everlasting glory in the world to come. All this we ask in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son and our Savior. Amen

From its beginnings, the United States government has depended on God to oversee its land and citizens. Even foreigners understood how much of an impact religion had on the culture of Americans.

In 1831, the failing French government sent a young Alexis de Tocqueville to the United States to observe and understand what it is that made the U.S. great. His two-volume Democracy in America (edited by Kershner, 1984) is considered a classic work of historical and academic value. This is what he has to say about the topic: “Religion in America takes no direct part in the government of society, but it must be regarded as the first of their political institutions; for if it does not impart a taste for freedom, it facilitates the use of it.” And, “I think that the state of religion in America is one of the things that most powerfully helps us to maintain our republican institutions. The religious spirit exercises a direct power over political passions, and also an indirect power by sustaining morals.” He understood that religion is what held Americans together for the cause of freedom and for maintaining peace among its citizens.

Today’s liberals are promoting an increasingly secular and atheistic agenda that has statistically shown to be devastating to that which Americans have traditionally valued. They even attempt to rewrite history by insisting that our Founding Fathers were merely deists and not deeply Christian men. Studies have shown that of the 54 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were Christian and 27 had theological training (Barton, 1995). Even Thomas Jefferson, who is among the most widely-considered deist, wrote that he himself was a Christian in his 1803 letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush. Jefferson was often labeled as an enemy of the Church by his contemporaries for his firm stance on the separation of Church and State. In this letter he wrote that his views “are very different from that anti-Christian system imputed to me by those who know nothing of my opinions. To the corruptions of Christianity I am, indeed, opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian.” (1975)

In the 1962 Supreme Court Case, Engel v. Vitale, the Court ruled that prayer in school was unconstitutional. There are many reasons why this particular decision stands as arguably the most noteworthy ruling ever. This was the first time in the Court’s entire history that zero precedents were used in support of its conclusion.(Barton, 1995) The astute observer will wonder why it took 180 years for the court to finally take out religion in schools, since it supposedly violates the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment. (Remember, this was not a ruling that rejected religion from being put into the classroom, as some will have you believe. It was a ruling that took out what had already been in place since the inception of the American educational system.) The answer is simply that religion in school does not violate the First Amendment as it was originally intended. If it did, how could the Founding Fathers allow The New England Primer, which uses Bible verses to teach the alphabet and quizzes students on the Ten Commandments, to be the most widely used textbook for schoolchildren?

In this increasingly secular-humanist country, scholarly opinion is trumping over historical fact. Many of these foundational aspects of our history are being twisted and erased as to slowly remove any remnant of religion. If religion in our past can be wiped out, so can any hope of its future. Religion is what built this great country and removing it only causes its demise.

It’s alarming to study data showing how significantly the crime rate increased at around 1962, the very year prayer in school was banned. Between 1955 and 1960, the U.S. saw a negligible difference in crime rate. But between the next five years, the crime rate rose 35% and between the following five years it rose an astonishing 81%. It remained in a steep climb until 1980 (US Census, 2008). This shows at least some evidence of the negative effects that occur by removing religion from everyday life.

The separation of Church and State is a phrase that has undoubtedly been heard ad nauseam by practically everyone, yet not many can cite its source. In the 1958 Supreme Court ruling of Bear v. Colmorgan, a Justice wrote, “If this Court doesn’t stop talking about separation of Church and State, someone’s going to think its part the Constitution.” This phrase has wrongly convinced millions of Americans that religion ought to be kept away from our government. When actually, it was intended to keep government away from our churches! A quick study of the context will confirm just that (Jefferson, 1975). Knowing this, it is easy to see how “In God We Trust” became our national motto and not create uproar among citizens. Or why the Oath of Office is made by swearing on the Bible, “…so help me God”. Or why every session of Congress has begun with a word of prayer. All of these customs were allowed to be created because they do not establish a national religion, which is what the First Amendment protects us from. It was not intended to ban a mere religious activity, but unfortunately, Engel v. Vitale changed all that.

Under extremely strict interpretation of recent court rulings, no marriages could be authorized, no state-funded fire department could be allowed to save a burning church, no politician could be ever be seen at a house of worship, and Arlington National Cemetery could never exist . Even use of the Gregorian calendar would be a violation because its use would “endorse” the Roman Catholic Church! It isn’t hard to imagine the enormous role of religion in our society. To take it out all at once would be impossible, so instead it’s being taken out a little at a time.

By using U.S. census information, it was found that when the top five “most Christian” states (namely: Utah, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Minnesota) were compared to the five “most irreligious” states (Washington, Vermont, Colorado, Oregon and California), a discrepancy exists between various revealing statistics. Violent crime is 42% lower, divorce is 25% lower, the number of people with diplomas is 1.2% higher and employment is 6.2% higher in the “Christian” states. (Statemaster, 2008) Coincidence? Maybe. Noteworthy? Definitely.

John Quincy Adams once said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." (Klause, 2008) This quote aptly states the mentality of America’s early leaders. It’s ridiculous to believe that our Founding Fathers wanted a society with no religious influence on government after considering how much influence religion indeed had on them. By removing religion in government and society, this nation faces a very real danger that threatens the success of its future. Too much is at stake for us to passively allow such drastic change to take place. Let us all be reminded of the Godly heritage of this country and that it’s preservation is a responsibility taken by a true patriot.

Works Cited

Lutz D. (1984) The Relative Influence of European Writers on Late Eighteenth-Century American Political Thought. The American Political Science Review, 78, pp. 189-197

Barton, D. (Director). (1995). America's Godly Heritage [Videotape]. 

370 U.S. 421 (1962), argued 3 Apr. 1962, decided 25 June 1962 by vote of 7 to 1; black for the Court, Douglas concurring, Stewart in dissent, White not participating. The Supreme Court did not work from a blank slate when it first faced the constitutionality of governmentally sponsored prayers in public schools. In Everson v. Board of Education of Ewing Township (1947), *Illinois ex rel. McCollum v. Board of Education (1948), and Zorach v. Clauson (1952), it had held the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to require a “wall of separation” between church and state. The height of this “wall,” however, was unclear. Everson and Zorach allowed public accommodation of religious practices, but McCollum struck them down. Additionally, during this period the Court declined to hear Doremus v. Board of Education (1952)—a case squarely raising the constitutionality of Bible reading in public schools. Nine years later, in Engel v. Vitale (1962), it took up a similar question.

Essentially, the separationist argument boiled down to this: any state support given to religion, either direct or indirect, violates the Constitution. In support of this contention, these litigants offered legal precedents and a history of the religion clauses that drew heavily from the writings of Thomas Jefferson (the “wall” metaphor was initially his) and James Madison. Particular emphasis was placed on the latter's “Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments.”



Duché, Rev. (1774) First Prayer of the Continental Congress, Office of the Chaplain. Retreived 18 Nov. 08. From

Yes, but…



De Tocqueville, A. (1983). Tocqueville’s America: The Great Quotations. (F. Kershner, Ed.). Athens: Ohio University Press.





“On my arrival in the United States the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and the longer I stayed there, the more I perceived the great political consequences resulting from this new state of things. In France I had almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom marching in opposite directions. But in America I found they were intimately united and that they reigned in common over the same country. My desire to discover the causes of this phenomenon increased from day to day. In order to satisfy it I questioned the members of all the different sects; I sought especially the society of the clergy, who are the depositaries of the different creeds and are especially interested in their duration. As a member of the Roman Catholic Church, I was more particularly brought into contact with several of its priests, with whom I became intimately acquainted. To each of these men I expressed my astonishment and explained my doubts. I found that they differed upon matters of detail alone, and that they all attributed the peaceful dominion of religion in their country mainly to the separation of church and state. I do not hesitate to affirm that during my stay in America I did not meet a single individual, of the clergy or the laity, who was not of the same opinion on this point.”

Jefferson, T. (1975). The Portable Thomas Jefferson. (M. Peterson, Ed.). New York: Penguin Group.







US Census Bureau. (2008). 1951-1994 Statistical Abstracts. Retrieved 18 Nov. 08. From

StateMaster. (2008). US Statistics, State Comparisons. Retrieved 18 Nov. 08. From

Klause, M. (2008) Our Nation. Retrieved 18 Nov. 08. From







................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download