Life {re}Defined

Most people are of the mistaken belief that the pilgrims came to America in order to have religious freedom for all, free from government interference, and that this is guaranteed by the original Constitution; in fact, they actually came here to establish their own brand of Christianity free from the Church of England, from other Protestant denominations, and from the Catholic Church, and religious freedom is not mentioned in or guaranteed by the Constitution.

America was not primarily settled by people seeking religious freedom; the separation of church and state did not result from the activism of secularists or the Pilgrims, but, paradoxically, from the efforts of 18th-century evangelicals resulting in The First Amendment To The Constitution; and the American Revolution was as much a reaction against European theocracy as a struggle for economic and political freedom.

Even in 1771, our country was a much different place spiritually. Most of the first colonies subsidized their "chosen" ministers' salaries with tax revenue. Yes, pastors were paid by the government. People like Isaac Backus in Massachusetts were arrested and John Leland, John Weatherford, and David Barrow were assaulted by mobs and beaten with whips. Others taught that hymns were worldly and immoral and that only the Psalms should be sung. In Caroline County Virginia, 6 people were arrested for the "immorality" of adult baptism; at that time, most people thought adult baptism was like a "get out of jail free card" in regards to sin. They were not alone. New York state celebrated the anti-Catholic "Pope Day". Only 3 of the 13 colonies allowed Catholics to vote. You see, most settlers had come to America so that they could worship separately from other forms of religions. And Protestants, Catholics, and everything else besides the state's chosen (usually Puritan) religions were those other forms. They wanted to worship in the way they chose and to still kick out those who did not.

Obviously, we are a much different place today. What caused such change that brought not only a spiritual change called "religious liberty" but its political equivalent termed by Thomas Jefferson as "a wall of separation between church and state"? Two things among others made it possible, according to Steve Waldman, author of the book Founding Faith: Providence, Politics, and the birth of Religious Freedom in America.

The first was the persecution of nonPuritan Christians in the state of Virginia. The nonPuritans did not want the state governments to use tax dollars to pay the salaries of clergy and the Baptists did not want to be forced to baptize their children until they could speak for themselves. After a while, ‘Separate Baptists’ were exempted from the taxes in Virginia , but they had to verify their Christian heritage, be certified by their respective denominations, and prove they still attended church services regularly(how times have changed). But this was not enough, so Roger Williams started the first Baptist church in a free state called Rhode Island, but it took John Leland's problems with the magistrates of Virginia to awaken the concerns of James Madison.

The second was the message spread by George Whitfield in 1739; a message that ignited the flames of spiritual fervor so great in early America that more people started attending church services, and more church groups were started. There were so many different kinds of beliefs, religious liberty as expressed in the First Amendment To The Constitution provided freedom to all the new growing movements, but made sure that church groups did not try to meddle in the business of partisanship and that the government would likewise not meddle in religion; this amendment is also specifically addressed in current IRS regulations. Thanks to James Madison, The First Amendment became the way to hold the church groups accountable to each other instead of to the government. The founders of our country, many of whom were Godly people and even "Christians", eventually realized that faith coerced, compelled, or even funded was not True Faith. When the First Amendment To The Constitution was ratified, the states finally stopped subsidizing salaries, and as a result, we now have true Religious Freedom.

[to be continued]