A History of the American People

Tom Paine, rebuking him for dismissing religion as needless: He who spits in the wind spits in his own face ... If men are wicked with religion, what would they be without it?' Both men constantly brought providence into their utterances, especially when talking of America. They may not have thought of Americans as the chosen people, like the Pilgrim Fathers, but they certainly believed that America was under some kind of divine protection. John Adams shared this view. The day the Declaration of Independence was signed, Adams wrote to his Abigail: The second day of July 1776 will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America ... it
will be celebrated by succeeding generations as a great anniversary festival. It ought to be
commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.' Adams
had been deflected from a career in the church by a spasm of rationalism in 1755, but he never
changed his opininon that belief in God and the regular practice of religion were needful to the
good society: One great advantage of the Christian religion,' he wrote,is that it brings the great
principle of the law of nature and nations, love your neighbour as yourself, and do to others as
you would that others should do to you-to the knowledge, belief and veneration of the whole
people. Children, servants, women as well as men are all professors in the science of public as
well as private morality ... The duties and rights of the citizen are thus taught from early infancy
to every creature.' Madison held exactly the same view, and even Jefferson would have endorsed
it. All these men believed strongly in education as essential to the creation of a workable republic
and who else was to supply the moral education but the churches? The Founding Fathers saw
education and religion going hand in hand. That is why they wrote, in the Northwest Ordinance
of 1787: Religion, morality and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, Schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.' It is against this background that we should place the opening sentence of the First Amendment,Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting
the free exercise thereof.' This guarantee has been widely, almost willfully, misunderstood in
recent years, and interpreted as meaning that the federal government is forbidden by the
Constitution to countenance or subsidize even indirectly the practice of religion. That would
have astonished and angered the Founding Fathers. What the guarantee means is that Congress
may not set up a state religion on the lines of the Church of England, as by law established.' It was an anti-establishment clause. The second half of the guarantee means that Congress may not interfere with the practice of any religion, and it could be argued that recent interpretations of the First Amendment run directly contrary to the plain and obvious meaning of this guarantee, and that for a court to forbid people to hold prayers in public schools is a flagrant breach of the Constitution. In effect, the First Amendment forbade Congress to favor one church, or religious sect, over another. It certainly did not inhibit Congress from identifying itself with the religious impulse as such or from authorizing religious practices where all could agree on their desirability. The House of Representatives passed the First Amendment on September 24, 1789. The next day it passed, by a two-to-one majority, a resolution calling for a day of national prayer and thanksgiving. It is worth pausing a second to look at the details of this gesture, which may be regarded as the House's opinion of how the First Amendment should be understood. The resolution reads:We
acknowledge with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by
affording them an opportunity peacefully to establish a constitutional government for their safety
and happiness.' President Washington was then asked to designate the day of prayer and
thanksgiving, thus inaugurating a public holiday, Thanksgiving, which Americans still
universally enjoy. He replied: `It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of