Government and religion co-exist
Whoever taught Sarah Brannan (Fence Post, Nov. 15) about the First Amendment didn't teach her about its original intent to prevent Congress from restricting religious freedoms.
From the beginning, religion and government coexisted. The First Amendment was based off of the Virginia Declaration of Rights written in 1776. Article XVI states "That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator and the manner of discharging it, can be directed by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore, all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; …"
The Northwest Ordinance, established in 1789 by the same Congress that established the First Amendment, declared that "Religion, morality and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and means of educations shall forever be encouraged." The Northwest Ordinance, signed by President George Washington, was the guideline for the establishment of state governments in the Northwest Territories, which Illinois was a part of.
It was not until 1947 when the Supreme Court first began restricting the free exercise of religion in public schools. Thanks to Justice Hugo Black, who based not on law but his misinterpretation of a letter written in 1802 by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists, first declared "a wall of separation between Church and State." This was same Jefferson who as president attended church services in the capitol and who in 1803 approved federal funds to build a Catholic church for educating Kaskaskia tribes. Justice Black took it upon himself to establish that his ruling applied to state governments as well.
Illinois' own Bill of Rights states, "The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination, shall forever be guaranteed." The Illinois Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act affirms that guarantee. Will Justice Gettleman validate Washington's and Jefferson's definition of the First Amendment or shall he impose his personal views and federal authority, like Justice Black, to interfere with state matters, and strike down a law passed by a veto-proof majority of the Illinois legislature?
Ron Feldman
Roselle