What Does "Separation of Church and State" Actually Separate? Pt. 1
It is time to set the record straight about the meaning of Thomas Jefferson's words to the Danbury Baptists.
The “Separation of Church and State” is mindlessly repeated by so many today that one would think it is the 11th Commandment. However, for the first 160 years as a nation, Americans understood the importance of faith (the “Church”) in society, culture, education, government, etc., because the biblical principles therein provided the moral basis on which to establish a safe and civil society, and ultimately acknowledging the existence of “Divine Providence/Creator” (i.e., God) from whom all rights are derived, and to whom all must one day give account for their life.
All of this changed when the Supreme Court, in 1947, wrongly interpreted Jefferson’s words in his letter to the Danbury Baptists (Oct. 7th, 1801) in their decision about whether the schools could reimburse students’ bus fees who attended religious schools. The Court decided in favor of reimbursement, but the table had been set for those opposed to Christianity and biblical morality. Jefferson’s phrase that there exists “a wall of separation between the Church and the State…” has been erroneously cited ever since.
The fundamental flaw in the Supreme Court’s interpretation is that it was completely detached from the historical context in which it was written. As a consequence, a Pandora’s Box was opened, paving the way to declare a simple non-denominational 22-word daily school prayer unconstitutional in 1962. The following year, it banned the public reading of the Bible—without comment—in our schools. A few years later, the Ten Commandments were deemed dangerous and removed from schools and courtrooms.
As a side note: can you, as the reader, grasp the ludicrousness of not allowing prayer, the Bible, and the Ten Commandments but allowing comprehensive sexual education materials that have been read in multiple school board meetings and shown to be nothing different from pornography of all kinds?
Ever since those culture-shifting decisions were made, the non-religious liberals and atheists have used the phrase “the separation of Church and State” as a sledgehammer against America’s Christian heritage and traditions. Today, many, including a significant portion of the Christian Church, believe that Christianity must be kept inside the Church and not anywhere near government, public schools, politics, and the public square in general. But is that what the principal author of the Declaration of Independence intended when he penned those words to the Christian congregation in Danbury, Connecticut?
To answer that, we must go further back in time.
Henry VIII became King of England in 1509 at the untimely death of his older brother, King Authur. Over the 38 years he reigned, he is known for his many wives, beginning with his deceased brother’s wife, Catherine of Aragon. However, there was something more significant about his reign than the life and death of his many wives.
For years, King Henry was an ardent supporter of the Pope, that is, until he wanted his marriage to Catherine annulled. The reason? She had not given him a son. The Pope’s response? No! Therefore, the King decided that he would completely sever ties with the Catholic Church and create his own Church. Then, at his direction, the parliament declared the King the supreme head of the (new) Church of England.
After five centuries, the King of England is still regarded as the supreme head of the Church of England. Furthermore, he is given the title “Defender of the Faith,” a title you may have heard during the coronation of King Charles following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth. For Henry VIII, it meant he had taken control of the Church, including the appointment of bishops.
In this bold move by the King, the “State” had swallowed up the Church and made its congregants subject to the demands and wishes of the current monarch. Not only that, but the King’s new Church was declared the only true Church, and those who questioned or disagreed with the “Church of England” (i.e., The King) would face severe consequences, up to and even including death.
In the following generations, two similar religious groups, the Pilgrims and the Separatists (note this latter group’s name in light of Jefferson’s words), would challenge the unbiblical teachings and practices of the Church of England. They believed in the free exercise of religion and that no King or government had the authority to infringe upon their right to worship God according to their beliefs. Unsurprisingly, the response from this new and all-powerful Church of England led by the King was harsh, and as the 17th century began, they began fleeing the country for their lives. Their journey for religious freedom would eventually take them across the Atlantic Ocean via Holland, where they unintentionally, yet providentially, landed off the coast of present-day Massachusetts at Plymouth Rock.
One hundred and fifty years later, our Founding Fathers knew all too well the long and sordid history of a Church and society ruled over by a monarch, for it still existed in England during their day. They knew that the freedom to live out their religious beliefs could not be experienced in a society where a monarch or other government entity dictated the terms. In essence, true religious freedom required the removal of the State’s interference and oversight.
Now that you know the historical context, read the larger portion of Jefferson’s words to the Danbury Baptists for literary context and interpret what he means by “separation” (I have added explanatory notes within brackets – [x]):
“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God; that he owes account to none other [except God] for his faith or his worship; that the legislative powers of the government reach actions only [i.e., “actions” = crimes, lawlessness, etc.], and not opinions [faith and beliefs about God], I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”
Let me point out how belief in God was so pervasive within the culture that our Founding Fathers frequently spoke of “God, the Lord, the Creator, Divine, and Supreme Judge of the world” in the Declaration of Independence. The multiple references to God in this, our nation’s birth certificate, render it to be more of a religious document than a political one. Therefore, there can be no question that Jefferson (Founder of the American Bible Society) was speaking about ending the State’s ability to control the Church and the exercise of one’s religion.
As History Professor Larry Schwiekart (University of Dayton) said some years ago:
“Jefferson’s wall of separation between Church and State clearly did not apply to a wall separating Church and Statesmen, for it was assumed by all that men of poor character could not govern. The unstated assumption beneath that was that character came from God and faith, not from man’s own works.”
– Agreed! Our recent political history is proof positive that men of poor character cannot govern. And when they do, society is worse for it.
Space does not allow me to expound further but suffice it to say that throughout our founding documents, one cannot deny that the “omnipresence of Christianity in America provided the undergirding for everything our Founders said and did” (Schwiekart). As alluded to already, the Declaration of Independence alone refers to God four times.
Patrick Henry said in 1776:
“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great Nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here.”
Time for the Church to arise from our foxholes and engage our culture from a biblical worldview in all sectors of society, civil government, public schools, law enforcement, the courts, and the media. The Church, with God’s Truth in hand and His love in our hearts, is the only hope for America. Biblical principles and faith in God established and preserved this Nation. And therefore, what made us strong and secure is still required to keep us that way - or to return us to a better time.
Paraphrasing an oft-quoted saying, “All that is needed for evil to succeed and spread throughout society is for the Church to keep their heads down and remain in their comfortable sanctuaries.” Who is ready to join a minority of other believers and step outside to see what God can do through His people, filled and led by His Holy Spirit?
[Sources include quotes from Larry Schwiekart, “Did You Know that Half the Declaration’s Signers Had Divinity School Training?” on the History News Network website, The George Washington University, 2005. – And from Molly Carman, “The 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence Memorial: Life, Liberty, and Legacy,” Family Research Council website, August 14, 2020.]
