Sins are committed against your God. Crimes are against the state. Sins are a matter of religion. Crimes are a matter of law. Religion is about ultimate truths. Law is about our common perception of truth. Sins are denounced in churches, while crimes are prosecuted in courtrooms. If we want to keep from becoming a theocracy, we need to recognize that distinction.
But distinction is one thing, and separation is another. While we can and must distinguish between religion and law, it is also clear that our common perception of truths (laws) are grounded in each person’s understanding of the ultimate truth (religion).
“Americans United for the Separation of Church and State” and such groups are on an irrational witch hunt to stamp out any and every religious influence in public life. This quixotic crusade is simply un-American. What they fail to see is that their own perception of the ultimate truth is itself a religion. And it is the only religion that they do not want to stamp out from public life.
Sadly, many Americans seem to have forgotten that religious freedom is for everyone. Each and every person who ever existed had some personal perception of ultimate truth. Each person has a religion. We all make everyday decisions based on our understanding of ultimate reality. Worldview matters, and worldview is religion.
In early American life, the overwhelming majority of people held some form of Christianity as their ultimate worldview. As a result, religion in public policy was largely a debate between different Christian denominations. As time has gone on, more and more adherents of non-Christian religions make up our citizenry. To add to the confusion, some historically Christian denominations have even adopted non-Christian worldviews as their own.
There is another twist as well. It is not necessary for something to have a recognizably religious name for it to be a religion. Atheism is a religion. Not only does it contain the word “god” (theos) in its very name, it has its own set of untested and untestable beliefs about ultimate reality. There are many different denominations of atheism, each with slightly different views of reality.
We could even assign names to these atheist denominations: Marxism, Leninism, Secular Humanism, Darwinism, Neil DeGrass-Tysonism, etc. The names are not important. What is important — extremely important — is to be quit of the irrational conceit that certain views and perceptions about God and ultimate reality are religions while others are not.
It is this false assertion that is poisoning our public conversation today. It is poisonous because it strips us the ability to wrestle with these differences under the constitutional system that was designed to allow a free discussion of ultimate reality. Instead, certain worldviews are excluded from the public discussion, while other religions are established by the government itself.
Let’s get back to basics. Our founding fathers recognized two things. First, they recognized that public laws are not merely arbitrary rules desired by the majority (mob rule). Rather, laws are rooted in the very nature of things. Second, they knew that because of our sinful natures and human limitations, people will always differ on their understanding of the ultimate nature of things.
Based on these two facts, they built a constitution that allows citizens of the United States to pass laws which are rooted in religion without establishing any one religion or lack of religion as the religion of the state. This is a distinction without a separation.
That’s why the American project is eloquently etched on every coin in your pocket. There you will find three defining slogans: “In God We Trust” is the foundation, “Liberty” is the means and “e pluribus unum“ (out of many, one) is the goal. These are literally the coin of American government. In simple words, they summarize the aspirations of every American.
Today we are being tested like never before. The multiplication of denominations, the widening of their beliefs, and the addition of non-Christian religions have all made America’s project to be more challenging than it was 200 years ago. But this is the genius of America. Even before today’s great challenges were contemplated, the framers of the United States Constitution provided us with the tools to rise to these challenges.
They provided us with Federalism, a separation and clear enumeration of the powers of the individual states vs. the powers of the federal government. They provided us with the separation of powers at the federal level into legislative, judicial and executive branches.
While our Constition separates numerous powers in order to dilute their potency and preserve our freedoms, they conscientiously refused to separate church and state. They recognized the distinction but encouraged religions to participate in the public discussion.
Today there is a push to abandon the Federalism and separated powers of the U.S. Constitution and try to meet these challenges by excluding certain religions and religious views from competing in the market of ideas. This will end badly. The loss of liberty for one group will never stop at just one group. If religious liberty is for everyone — even those who consider themselves non-religious — taking it from one religion will take it from all.
There is a better way. Let us all — devout Catholic, Evangelical, skeptic or atheist — acknowledge and own our own religion as what it is. Then let us meet one another in the public square, in the coffee shop and over the back fence, to seek common ground in our perceptions of the ultimate truth.
Along the way, in an honest quest for the ultimate truth, we will both increase unity and sharpen our perceptions. By the grace of God, you could even find the Truth who sets you free, “with liberty and justice for all.”
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