iamsarah2000 asked this question on 4/25/2000:

Who would like to talk about Freedom of religion and the First Amendment? I am doing a paper for school and need opinions (from all sides) Any info or opinions I am interested in on all Religions etc...Thanks. Paper is due Tuesday May 2nd...

darwitt gave this response on 4/26/2000:

If anyone coud claim direct paternity of the spirit and the letter of the Virginia Statute on Religious Liberty and the First Amendment, it wuld be Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and John Leland and whatever their true religious attitudes may have been, the original intent of the free exercise clause was most clearly and emphatically stated by the deist Jefferson and the radical sectarian baptist John Leland, and in almost identical language: "It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." (Jefferson) For Leland, the first Amendment permitted "every man (to) speak freely without fear, maintaining the principles that he believes, and to worship according to his own faith either for one god, three gods or no god or twenty gods. and let gevernment protect him in doing so."

That freedom of religion and freedom of speech were closely entwined and thus it is no accident that they are part of the FIRST ammendment to the Constitution.

Some of the arguments by conservatives against the received notions of the relation of Church and State have to do that it is not only the individual who has rights in the Public Square (the arena of civic discourse) but also GROUPS such as Christian's, Protestants, Unions, the Press, etc., have rights because they represent the members of those groups.

This doctrine is called 'CORPORATISM' and originated as an alternative to democracy because of perceived threats to the Catholic Church in Italy and France. For a vigorous rebuttal of that argument see the book THE UNCONSCIOUS CIVILIZATION by John Ralson Saul.

This attempt to put religion BACK into the Public Square came about after the Supreme Court ruled unconstituional practices which had been accepted by nondenominational Protestantism since the founding of the country. The fact that these practices were against the letter and spirit of the First Amendment was never successsfully challenged until de iure segregation (which was likewise tolerated by a large majority) was successfully challenged.

The conservatives have been nuturing sentiments for a return to the "Good Old Days", prior to Civil rights and the abolition of school prayer. As conservative columnist Ben Wattenberg said: "Liberals will wait for one Republican, any Republican, anyway, anytime to say that 'Americal is a Christian nation'--and then jump up and down...But it's not the Repoublicans who are regarded as the party in opposition to the death penalty, praying, and Christmas...The anti-anti-ateist vote in this country is a small one."

Conservatives count on there being little resistance to the unconstitutional but comfortable "Good Old Days".

darwitt gave this follow-up answer on 5/1/2000:

You and I apparently have fundamentally different ideas of what a discussion of the First Amendment and Religion looks like. I don't understant how you so quickly rated the only other response to you question and have failed for all this time to rate my comments. Apparently I didn't give you the kind of answer that you expected; so I withdraw my answer from consideration.

The average rating for this answer is 4.

iamsarah2000 rated this answer a 4.