I hear a lot of talk these days about "the founders." These are the people responsible for shaping our nation. Despite popular notions, the founders were actually quite diverse. They held different points of view on important matters. Even so, they found a way to compromise and make decisions. The result of their cooperation was something wonderful that we might call the American experiment.
What's interesting to me is that the founders had incredible power. They could have designed a system very different than the one they actually created. In particular, they could have made very different decisions about the role of faith in our nation - and they could have made very different decisions about the role of the state in matters of faith.
And I'm wondering today why they didn't make those different decisions. They held immense power in their hands. They could have designed a very different model as far as religious faith is concerned.
What on earth were they thinking?
What's interesting to me is that the founders had incredible power. They could have designed a system very different than the one they actually created. In particular, they could have made very different decisions about the role of faith in our nation - and they could have made very different decisions about the role of the state in matters of faith.
And I'm wondering today why they didn't make those different decisions. They held immense power in their hands. They could have designed a very different model as far as religious faith is concerned.
What on earth were they thinking?
Specifically, why didn't the founders set up a theocracy? Why did they not establish religious tests for public office (and, more to the point, why did they explicitly prohibit such religious tests)? Why did the founders not set up an official state-sponsored religion and give it special treatment? Why did they not find ways to support their own faith traditions? And why did they not find ways to penalize faith traditions that were not their own?
The founders held in their hands the power to do every one of those things. They could have done those things easily. What were they thinking?
Actually, they got it exactly right. They didn't use the power to do those things - because wisdom prevailed. The founders believed that, when it comes to faith, the best gift the government can give is a level playing field. They believed that faith works best when it can be freely and openly argued, debated, shared, and decided upon in the world of public and private conversation - without any help at all from the government.
The founders could have decreed that every office holder in the land belong to a particular faith tradition. They could have set up a certain faith as the official religion of the land. They even could have made particular faiths illegal. They held the power to do those very things. But they chose not to.
In other words, they got it exactly right.
Faith needs no support from the government. In fact, that kind of support would be the worst thing that could happen. As people of faith, what we want from our government is the simple freedom to live out our faith. And, of course, we should remember that people of every faith - and people of no faith - have that same right. The founders wanted all of us to have that right.
It turns out that the founders knew exactly what they were doing. They left some things out. They left those things out on purpose. The founders could have built a system that tied faith and the government tightly together. But they didn't do that. They did not do that . . . on purpose.
They got it exactly right. And I am so grateful for their wisdom.
The founders held in their hands the power to do every one of those things. They could have done those things easily. What were they thinking?
Actually, they got it exactly right. They didn't use the power to do those things - because wisdom prevailed. The founders believed that, when it comes to faith, the best gift the government can give is a level playing field. They believed that faith works best when it can be freely and openly argued, debated, shared, and decided upon in the world of public and private conversation - without any help at all from the government.
The founders could have decreed that every office holder in the land belong to a particular faith tradition. They could have set up a certain faith as the official religion of the land. They even could have made particular faiths illegal. They held the power to do those very things. But they chose not to.
In other words, they got it exactly right.
Faith needs no support from the government. In fact, that kind of support would be the worst thing that could happen. As people of faith, what we want from our government is the simple freedom to live out our faith. And, of course, we should remember that people of every faith - and people of no faith - have that same right. The founders wanted all of us to have that right.
It turns out that the founders knew exactly what they were doing. They left some things out. They left those things out on purpose. The founders could have built a system that tied faith and the government tightly together. But they didn't do that. They did not do that . . . on purpose.
They got it exactly right. And I am so grateful for their wisdom.