THE FOUNDERS' WORLDVIEW
AUTHORITY IN A SOCIETY
RELIGIOUS EQUALITY
Religious equality is little understood in our society today. However, this has not always been true. Article I, Section 16 of the present Virginia Constitution, for example, defines religion as "the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence."
James Madison penned this section of the Virginia Constitution with Article I also called the Virginia Declaration of Rights. "Therefore," Madison concludes, "all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other." (And you thought there was a separation of church and state in the United States of America.)
The truth is, the Founding Fathers understood such things as liberty, authority and government as Biblical principles applied to civil government and its relationship to the individual, family and church. Sadly, few of us as Christians and citizens understand much about the Biblical principles embodied in the founding documents of the various state and federal civil governments.
Our understanding, and that of our civil governmental "leadership," is, in fact, governed by man-centered principles rather than God-centered principles which filled the minds of the Founders who were among the ordinary citizens living in the original thirteen colonies. The difference in mind-set between our Founding Fathers and the present establishment is at the heart of all the problems we have in our nation today.
As noted, religion at the time of our nation's charter document, the Declaration of Independence, was the duty we owe our Creator. "Religion, in its most comprehensive sense," defines Webster (1828) as further proof of this meaning of the term, "includes a belief in the being and perfections of God, in the revelation of His will to man, in man's obligation to obey his commands, in a state of reward and punishment, and in man's accountableness to God."
While Webster (1828) reflects the primary thinking that religion involved the Creator and God of the Bible, he also acknowledged "any system of faith and worship" as an understanding of religion. "In this sense," writes Webster (1828), "religion comprehends the belief and worship of pagans and Mohammedans, as well as of Christians," and includes further "any religion consisting in the belief of a superior power or powers governing the world, and in the worship of such power or powers." Thus, any system of belief where there is a superior that an inferior is bound to obey, constitutes a religion.
Only two real choices exist for the superior; namely, the Creator and God of the Bible or Man represented by the State. Where an official policy of a society or nation is the separation of church and state, the State becomes the superior. Where no such policy exists, the State is inferior to the Creator God. For example, the Constitution of the Soviet Union expressly calls for strict separation of church and state. This explains why Soviet Christians and Jews are under oppression. China, Cuba and Nicaragua are other examples of nations which practice the separation of church and state. Consequently, no religious equality exists in those countries.
In comparison, the separation of church and state is not a part of the founding documents of our nation. As applied by the courts, however, the idea of the establishment of religion is now being interpreted to mean a separation of church and state although no legislative body has enacted such a law. The separation of church and state as presently applied makes the State the exclusive sovereign over the people.
Therefore, even though our various state and federal constitutions call for the freedom of religious expression as found in the Virginia Declaration of Rights and as protected by the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, the people must now bow down to the god-State which has declared itself the supreme author of power in our nation. Only revival and restoration of the American Constitutional Republic can save our nation!
8Neil F. Markva
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