Dear Editor:
The April 25 article by Heath Hixson is disappointing in terms of how the constitutional principle of separation between religion and government is being distorted and abused by pandering politicians. The bill sponsored by Rep. Ruben Hope is unconstitutional on its face; yet it "was approved by the House of Representatives without opposition"?
The "Father of the Constitution," James Madison, warned of such attacks on the Constitution in his essay "Monopolies, Perpetuities, Corporations, Ecclesiastical Endowments" (of which the legislators are apparently uninformed): "Strongly guarded as is the separation between Religion and Government in the Constitution of the United States, the danger of encroachment by Ecclesiastical Bodies, may be illustrated by precedents already furnished in their short history" (William and Mary Quarterly, 3:555). Obviously, this is a situation of a legislative body encroaching on the principle of separation.
A violation of the no Establishment Clause of the First Amendment does not depend on the pushing of "one religion over any other religion" or on permissiveness. It is the making of the law which is prohibited. Because of the Fourteenth Amendment and various Supreme Court decisions, the prohibition applies to all levels of state government, including school districts. Is there no one in the Texas House who knows that? In other words, the Texas state legislature "shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."
As a strict constructionist of the Constitution, I object to Rep. Hope adding words to the Establishment Clause by placing an "a" in front of "religion." It is "religion" which shall not be established by law or government, not "a" religion, and "religion" is the only word which makes sense out of "thereof" in the Free Exercise Clause.
I object to the dishonesty of those who change "religion" to "church." The word "church" is not in the Constitution. The Constitution separates religion and government, not just church and state. Government is the essence of coercion. In America religion is a voluntary matter for individuals, families, churches, and religion organizations, but it is not the business of government at any level.
The motto which founded this nation is e pluribus unum--of many one. When the misguided 1956 Congress changed the national motto to "In God We Trust" it violated the Constitution: Congress shall make "no law" means no law. It is as simple as that, and it is dishonest to suggest "God" has nothing to do with religion.
By the way, I also object to dishonest history revisionists. In 1797 the Senate of the United States and President John Adams (in plain English) wrote the following: "The government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion" (Treaties, Hunter Miller, 2:365, 1931).
Copyright 2003 Gene Garman