Democratic Party Ninth District Billy Harrison

To fully appreciate a freedom with which we were born is difficult. One of our cherished freedoms is what we call "freedom of religion." Our country may be described as the most religiously diverse country in the world. On the day of worship we go in many different directions theologically, we worship under many different names, enjoying many different styles of worship. Or, we may choose to stay at home and take no part in any kind of formal worship, without any fear of repercussion.

Freedom of religion is made possible because of the first amendment to our Constitution "declared in force December 15, 1791." It reads as follows: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." In just 16 words, the framers of our constitution guaranteed our right to choose our faith or to choose no faith. They declared that, in an organizational sense, government and church would not comingle, and everyone would be free to choose their religion.

This means, specifically, that if everyone in Congress chose "Christianity" as their faith, the rest of us could still be free to choose to be a Buddhist, a Hindu, a Jew, a Muslim, etc. Since "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion", we are all completely free to make our own choice.

Why did Congress make freedom of religion our first amendment to the Constitution? Because many came out of experiences in Europe where they knew the horrors that result from a state church. In The Believers Church, John Wesley said that the merger of church and state became a corruptive influence that brought ruin to the church and sent it into a centuries long decline. Billy Graham warned, "To tie the Gospel to any political system, secular program, or society is wrong and will only serve to divert the Gospel. The Gospel transcends the goals and methods of any political system or any society, however good it may be."

Due to the guarantee of religious freedom, the church, synagogue, or mosque is free to do its work: to conduct worship, to teach, to preach to evangelize, to minister to the spiritual and physical needs of the people in the local community and throughout the world. By guaranteeing religious freedom, we avoid the nightmare of a state church that could have the power to declare the teachings of all other churches "heretical."

In his book, Head and Heart; American Christianities, Garry Wills tells the story of Mary Dyer. Mary Dyer was hanged in June 1660 in Massachusetts. Her crime? She was a Quaker. In 17th century Massachusetts, only one religion was allowed- the official version of Christianity as established by the State. The law deemed all other faiths as heresies. Unrepentant heretics could face death for their beliefs.

Consider the words of James L. Evans, a syndicated columnist who also serves as pastor of First Baptist Church, Auburn, Alabama: "The framers of the Constitution were determined that religious intolerance would end. They disestablished religion, all religion, from having any official government sanction. They set faith free to make its own way, and promised to provide protection for everyone to pursue faith in the way they understood faith."

Billy Harrison is a retired Baptist minister living in Blue Ridge. Before retirement he served as Director of Family Ministries for the Georgia Baptist Convention.