In response to Crista Jackson’s Oct. 19 column, “Keep religion far from policy.”
Crista Jackson’s article on policy and religion Friday constituted a serious deviation from the intent of the Founders when they crafted the First Amendment. The Founders sought to prevent the state from restricting religious practice, including in the lives of public figures. Public figures make laws and create policy based on their values, and for sincere believers religion will necessarily shape worldview and value positions to a large degree. Therefore, it is impossible for someone whose religion truly “defines” their life to keep religion out of politics. And this doesn’t automatically constitute tyranny, as Ms. Jackson implies; there is no difference between a value defined by an arbitrary philosophical position and a value based on a religious belief.
The writer points out that the Founding Fathers fled religious tyranny, but forgets to mention that they were absolutely fine with the Bible’s use as a primary learning resource in schools for many years. Christian prayer in schools was prevalent, at least until the mid-1950s, when judges constructed the artificial “wall of separation” that we see in place today. It’s safe to say that the Founders’ view of religious tyranny was a lot different than the modern secular left’s. All the so-called “religious laws” condemned in this article, which the majority clearly believed should be put into place to better America, are a far cry from the tyranny of state-established religion that was the issue two and a half centuries ago.
Stephen Smith
Undergraduate
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