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17th-20th-Century Ecclesiastic American History: How UnHoly Thou Art?
The post is about the U.S. government and the so-called freedom of religion that the early religionist on the Mayflower in 1620 expected. However, from the beginning, these first religionist in America were running away from religious persecution became in themselves persecutors of other faiths. With sectarian wars and riots that have been seen right through American history.
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Treaty of Tripoli 1796 Article 11 of the treaty states:
‘As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion, – as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen, – and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.’ https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/bar1796t.asp#art11
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Irony can be categorized in the form of the Religion of America today. If we go back in time to the days of the “saints” or “pilgrims” that set sail in September of 1620 on the ship, Mayflower, reaching America in November of the same year. These pilgrims were disgruntled Protestants, who wanted religious freedom from the church and state of their day. Which put restraints on some faiths, such as the “Protestant separatists.” Who did not want to pledge allegiance to the Church of England? Who they saw as corrupt and as idolatrous as that of Catholicism. They wanted religious freedom, freedom to choose their own conservative religious beliefs, without state and church interference.
Today in the 21st century, we find American government policies highly infiltrated by various rightwing church lobbyist, who also dictate election outcome by sponsoring or backing only devout religious candidates, who are running on Christian sponsored ticket. This religious influence over government is not a modern-day occurrence, Christians have been infiltrating and lobbying U.S. government since its full independence from Britain after the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Several past American presidents and politicians foresaw church influence and preach Separatism between church and state. In 1890 it was quoted in Wisconsin supreme court in the case Weiss v. District Board: “There is no such source and cause of strife, quarrel, fights, malignant opposition, persecution, and war, and all evil in the state, as religion. Let it once enter into our civil affairs, our government soon would be destroyed. Let it once enter our common schools, they would be destroyed. Those who made our Constitution saw this and used the aptest and comprehensive language in it to prevent such a catastrophe.” [Weiss v. District Board, March 18, 1890]” ― Supreme Court of Wisconsin
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“…legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions,
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 & State.
Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments
which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.”
― Thomas Jefferson, Letters of Thomas Jefferson
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Issues Relevant to U.S. Foreign Diplomacy—Religion.
(You will avoid interfering in matters of Ecclesiastic!)
It is important to note that when the first U.S. diplomatic representatives arrived in Rome, the United States was one of the few countries represented that did not have ties to the Pope as the spiritual head of the nation. (i.e. the U.S. was one of the few secular powers with diplomats in Rome.) Then-U.S. Secretary of State James Buchanan wrote to the U.S. Chargé d’Affaires in 1848 that “Your efforts, therefore, will be devoted exclusively to the cultivation of the most friendly civil relations with the papal government, and to the extension of the commerce between the two countries. You will carefully avoid even the appearance of interfering in ecclesiastical questions, whether these relate to the United States or any other portion of the world. It might be proper, should you deem it advisable, to make these views known, on some suitable occasion, to the papal government, so that there may be no mistake or misunderstanding on the subject.” https://history.state.gov/countries/papal-states
Judge Fortas commented on church and state in his quote: “Government in our democracy, state and national, must be neutral in matters of religious theory, doctrine, and practice. It may not be hostile to any religion or to the advocacy of no-religion; and it may not aid, foster, or promote one religion or religious theory against another or even against the militant opposite. The First Amendment mandates governmental neutrality between religion and religion, and between religion and nonreligion.[Epperson v. Arkansas, 393 U.S. 97, 1968.]”― Abe Fortas, Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
What do you say, can Christian Americans still claim America is a Holy Christian nation/state or country?
Cofion
Jero Jones
Article URL : https://breakingnewsandreligion.online/discuss/