An appropriate relationship between the institutions of Church and State should be
balanced and not overly intrusive from either side in regards to the formation of laws, public
policy, and political activity. The birth of America was exceptional because the founders
fervently believed our rights came from God. With this foundation, the founders did not want an
official state religion, i.e. no “Church of America”, paid for by the taxpayers but they wanted a
flourishing of religious beliefs of seeking God (Gingrich 2018). The letter Thomas Jefferson
wrote to Danbury Baptist Association referenced a separation between church and state in which
he was referring to the question of whether or not the government should pay for a church of
America (Gingrich 2018). This statement often gets misinterpreted and is often falsely believed
to be in the United States Constitution (Hall 2011).
The founders were aware of the possible tyranny that could erupt when religion and state
are knitted too closely together. They were also aware and committed to the idea of religion as a
necessary attribute for public happiness and political prosperity (Hall 2011). The founders
understood morality to be one of the key attributes needed for a self-governing people to run a
self-government. Morality was necessary for an individual to govern himself and must be
motivated by something beyond the law (Metaxas 2016, 61). This type of morality came from
the belief in a higher purpose, God. This goes with the concept of the Golden Triangle of
Freedom which the founders built the nation’s foundation on. The Golden Triangle of Freedom
in its most basic form is: “freedom requires virtue; virtue requires faith; and faith requires
freedom” (Metaxas 2016, 54).
The American founders had an understanding of protecting these rights and moralities by
protecting the church from the state, this Christian understanding dates back to the first century
(Witte 2006, 28). The principal concern was not only to protect the church from state intrusion
but also protect the state from church intrusion. This is something John Adams wrote about in his
Dissertation on the Canon and the Feudal Law. He stated both the medieval Catholic church and
the early modern Protestant churches caused “tyrannous outrages” through their control of the
state (Witte 2006, 30).
The founders also had an understanding of separation of church and state regarding the
exclusion of religious officials from participating in political office (Witte 2006, 30). This
concept was common in the seventeenth-century American Puritans and Anabaptists but became
more commonplace during the eighteenth-century (Witte 2006, 30). There were several
arguments for this reason. It was argued ministers in political office could use their position to
threaten spiritual reprisal on their congregants, who may also be political officials, to comply
with the minister’s political position (Witte 2006, 31).
Another complication arising from this scenario is deciding who the minister should
serve, the congregants or the constituents. This would evolve into an unbalanced influence on the
political process (Witte 2006, 31). There would also be the temptation of the minister using the
religious messages towards political causes (Witte 2006, 31). Lastly, the combined positions
would cause an egregious offense greater than taxation without representation because the
minister would enjoy both the “benefit of exemption of taxation for themselves and the power to
impose taxation on all others” (Witte 2006, 31).
There are different views to the modern political church and state issues. Russell Moore
states there are political engagements such as the pro-life movement that are more than just
political in nature. He states the reason this movement continues to resonate among young
Christians is due to it not being singularly a political issue but also an issue that requires
political, ecclesial, and cultural reform and persuasion (Moore 2013). Moore believes now is not
the time to pull back from politics but rather reenergize in politics (Moore 2013). He believes
retreating from political issues does not lead to a less politicalized church, and the key is not start
or end with politics alone but to start and end with the teachings and moralities of the gospel
(Moore 2013). Jesus addressed everything body and soul, public, private, and personal with the
vision of the cross at every point, and the modern day church should continue to follow this lead
(Moore 2013). “Then Jesus said to his disciple, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny
themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24 [NIV]).
Newt Gingrich stated, Thomas Jefferson would say our current system is remarkably
dangerous to our freedoms (Gingrich 2018). The meaning behind Jefferson’s statement, the wall
of separation between church and state has been misinterpreted and evolved beyond the
founders’ intentions. There is undoubtedly a difference between the views of the founders and
modern day church and state separatists. The founders would see the actions of “modern day
secularists fanatics” as fundamentally un-American (Gingrich 2018). The founders intended for a
government that would provide protections from both the state and the church being overly
intrusive to each other. This was to not only protect religious freedoms but also the creation of a
nation church, which could be the perfect institution to cultivate tyranny.
References
Gingrich, Newt. 2018. Religious Foundations and Core Beliefs. Interview by Johnnie Moore.
Liberty University Blackboard site.
https://learn.liberty.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?
course_id=_492581_1&content_id=_28538750_1
Hall, Mark. 2011. “Did America Have a Christian Founding?” The Heritage Foundation, June 7,
2011.
https://www.heritage.org/political-process/report/did-america-have-christian-founding
Metaxas, Eric. 2016. If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty. New
York: Viking Press.
Moore, Russell. 2013. “Should We Pull Back from Politics?” Accessed January 22, 2019.
https://www.russellmoore.com/2013/10/23/should-we-pull-back-from-politics/
Witte, John. 2006. “Facts and Fictions About the History of Separation of Church and State.”
Journal of Church and State 48, no. 1 (Winter): 15-45.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/23920692
Thank you for your post Clayton. Within your last paragraph you spoke about how
Moore believes Christians should not pull back from politics but rather pull back to the ministry
of Jesus. He suggests Christians should not pull back from politics but rather reenergize it
(Moore 2013). Majority of the time, when determining political beliefs and political allegiances,
religion and religious beliefs play an important role (Barone 2009, 156). A majority of today’s
social movements have included religious themes such as pro-life and family whereas
abolitionism and prohibition were the social movements of yesterday (Campbell and Putnam
2012, 37). The reason social movements such as pro-life continues to resonate with young
Christians is because it is not solely a political issue (Moore 2013).
Moore made an interesting yet true statement about Millennial and post-Millennial
Christians; they are walking away from the political process (Moore 2013). Campbell and
Putnam dive further into this by stating the various reasons the millennials’ movement has
accelerated from moving away from organized religion (Campbell and Putnam 2012, 41). They
conducted a study between the years 2006-2011 with results showing “a large number of
individuals are lowering their own estimates of religion’s role in American life” (Campbell and
Putnam 2012, 42). They stated the evidence indicates the significant generational shift is mainly
in response to the religious right (Campbell and Putnam 2012, 42). It is interesting to view both
sides.
Perhaps Moore is on to something when he stated there needs to be a reenergizing of
politics and pull back to the ministry of Jesus. Historically speaking, religion has inspired change
across the U.S. political spectrum (Campbell and Putnam 2012, 43). “American public discourse-
and the country at large-will be impoverished if religion is reduced to a mere force for partisan
mobilization” (Campbell and Putnam 2012, 43). In conclusion, as Moore stated, we engage
politically because we love our neighbors.
References:
Barone, Michael. 2009. “The Declining Role of Religion in Politics?” In The Future of Religion
in American Politics, edited by Charles W. Dunn, 153-58. University Press of Kentucky.
Campbell, David E. and Robert D. Putnam. 2012. “God and Caesar in America: Why Mixing
Religion and Politics Is Bad for Both.” Foreign Affairs 91, no. 2 (March/April): 34-43.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/23217219
Moore, Russell. 2013. “Should We Pull Back from Politics?” Accessed January 22, 2019.
https://www.russellmoore.com/2013/10/23/should-we-pull-back-from-politics/
Thank you for your post Megan. I enjoyed reading your post. Virtue was a main
component in forming the nation. The founders believed in order for people to have
freedom, virtue was a necessity. It was particularly important for the people to have virtue to
prevent the rise and growth of magisterial tyranny over the democracy (Agresto 1977, 475).
Tyranny was the last thing the founders wanted in the new nation, it was exactly what they were
escaping from.
The founders knew in order for the new republic to be successful and free from tyranny,
there was a major responsibility on the people to be self-governing and capable of restraining
their own interests and desires for the sake of the whole (Argesto 1977, 475). This required
virtue. For these people to experience freedom, they must possess virtue. For virtue to exist, one
must have faith, and for freedom to exist one must have faith (Metaxas 2016, 53). Regardless
whether the founders were Christian or not, they all understood the concept of virtue and
freedom when forming the new nation.
Therefore, as you stated, there is evidence despite some unbelievers, America was
founded on religious principles. I have to agree with your last statement, although it is
unfortunate but it is true: as a society there has been a significant drift from religious core beliefs
and applying those beliefs to pursue God's vision.
References
Argesto, John T. 1977. “Liberty, Virtue, and Republicanism: 1776-1787.” The Review of Politics
39, no. 4 (1977). 473-504. htttps://www.jstor.org/stable/1407290.
Metaxas, Eric. 2016. If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty. New
York: Viking Press.
