tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7945807014448173535.post7981106804794019341..comments2024-01-30T01:45:30.807-06:00Comments on This Is Life ~ by Charity Pence: 3. Our Founding Fathers~Charity~http://www.blogger.com/profile/17229211189193643618noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7945807014448173535.post-5778412782156680142012-06-17T17:33:11.316-05:002012-06-17T17:33:11.316-05:00I am a student at Hillsdale College, and if you ar...I am a student at Hillsdale College, and if you are not familiar with that excellent institution of higher learning, I urge you to acquaint yourself with it. <br /><br />What you discuss above is something I learned a lot about in my freshman year. It turns out that the phrase "wall of separation between church and state" has been pulled out of context and used in ways that stray far from its author's intent. Thomas Jefferson is responsible for its original use in his letter to the Danbury Baptist Association. A copy of the letter can be found <a href="http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpre.html" rel="nofollow">here.</a><br /><br />In this letter, Jefferson (who was president at the time) responds to the appeal of the Danbury Baptist Association to help establish freedom of religion in Connecticut. Essentially, he tells them that he believes freedom of religion is extremely important, but that establishing it is a state issue that he, as president, cannot influence without violating the principles of federalism outlined in the Constitution. He says nowhere that politics and religion should be estranged from each other. He says nowhere that the government should restrict or regulate religion. In fact, here and in other writings, he says the exact OPPOSITE—that the government must keep from restricting religion at all costs, and that genuine religion is not only good for but *necessary to* a happy and functional country. <br /><br />If anyone doubts these conclusions about Jefferson’s opinion on the so-called “separation” of church and state, let them observe that he—then the *president* of the United States--ends the letter with a prayer to the “Father and Creator of man.”Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com