Comparison Paper
In today’s world, we have a lot to be thankful for from our founding forefathers
regarding our freedoms and religious rights. The journey to these freedoms and religious rights
begins with the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence was in the works
from April 1775 to July of 1776. During this time span, the American Revolution was in full
swing. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of independence was signed. The Declaration was
established by the American colonists and stated that they were considering themselves free from
English rule. The Declaration was meant as the letter of intent of the American colonists to break
away from England to form their own country.
The next thing to come was the United States Constitution. The United States
constitution was drafted over a span of almost twelve years, from April 19, 1775 to September 3,
1783. The constitution was ratified, which means it was accepted by all the states, on June 21,
1788.
The Constitution was built to be the framework of the rights of the citizens, it also
established the guidelines for the federal government, in lieu of what its powers over the people
were and what it was and was not allowed to do. The main difference between the Declaration of
Independence and the Constitution is the purpose for each. The Declaration was the intention of
separation from the Kingdom of Great Britian, and the Constitution was the guidelines of which
the newly formed government were to govern by.
The separation of the church and state came under the Constitution. The
First Amendment put this into effect, meaning that religious rights could be practiced freely in
private or public as well as individually or publicly and the government could not infringe upon
it. In regard for the citizens thoughts on the separation of the church and state, it was an act to
protect all the citizens, therefore I feel as though they were grateful. They were able to freely
practice any religion of their choosing without the interference of and prosecution by the
government. This amendment made it illegal for the government to outlaw or levy into law, as
well as side with or against any one particular religion.
The last thing to come was Thomas Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptists.
The Danbury Baptists believed that Connecticut selecting an official religion was
unconstitutional, which it most definitely was, as the Constitution stated that government had no
sanction over an individual's religious preferences. They also believed that it infringed on their
rights to practice religion freely. The letter from Thomas Jefferson, who was the third
president of the United States at that time was more or less a letter of sympathy to the Baptists.
Thomas Jefferson wrote his letter in response to the Baptists because they believed that he would
be able to lobby or potentially change the Connecticut state law. However, the power did not
belong to Thomas Jefferson as it would have been the United States Supreme Court that would
have been the one to be able to rule against the state government not the president of the United
States. Though Jefferson did not offer direct help, he did relay that he expected progress to be
made in the future for religious freedom.
The establishment of these documents allowed for great religious freedom while
still allowing for governing against heinous acts. As in the bible, we can see that there is also a
need for hierarchy, however, though everyone was encouraged to follow God’s law, there was
no pressures applied to those who did not. God’s law was spanned into many different variations
of religion, which enabled those of various cultures to discover which religion was more
applicable to their background. As the Constitution was our framework for rights and religious
freedoms, the bible poses as a legal framework that is applicable to all at any given moment and
is also seen as the bases for all law (Martin, 2006). The Bible holds the ten commandments
which govern how God's law should be acted upon and the U.S. Constitution along with the
twenty-seven amendments govern both the people and the government. Each framework plays
an important role to everyday life and have and will continue to protect all of God’s people until
He makes His return.
