Separation of the Church and the State

For some odd reason, I receive the publication Church and State published by Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU). Either someone believes that I need to receive this, or I am on their mailing list. Either way, I never complain about receiving such things at no cost to myself.

The back cover of some issues contains an unreferenced quote attributed to James Madison: “The number, the industry, and the morality of the Priesthood have been manifestly increased by the total separation of the Church from the State.” The organization’s pitch then follows: “James Madison and other founders of the United States strongly believed that church-state separation preserves the integrity and vitality of religion, ensures freedom of conscience for all people and prevents government meddling in matters of faith. So do we!”

Research affirms that the quote attributed to Madison is from Madison. It is found in a letter to Robert Walsh dated March 2nd, 1819. Madison’s letter is in response to a February 15th letter from Walsh concerning “misrepresentations propagated abroad” about Negro slavery, moral character, religion, and education in Virginia. http://www.constitution.org/jm/18190302_walsh.htm

European governments historically supported an established Christian sect and clergy. As with other portions of the great American “experiment,” they believed that religion could not survive without this support. Madison replied that, instead of withering away, all [Christian] Sects in Virginia were making great gains.

Reading Madison’s quote in the full context of the letter makes the AU use of it suspect. The AU’s application of “the total separation of the Church from the State” cannot be found in the context of Madison’s letter or the context of volumes of other historical documents by the Founding Fathers. The separation referred to by Madison was that the federal government not favor any particular Christian sect. The separation referred to by AU is to remove from the public arena all references to the Christian faith and America’s Christian heritage. They especially oppose any policies promoted by the so-called “religious right,” whom they oppose with a particularly vicious fanaticism. I find it alarming that an organization that claims to stand on the truth of Constitutional rights attempts to be so deceptive with its use of the intentions of Founding Fathers like James Madison.