The Relationship of Church and State in America and

Its Impact on Education from an Historical and Judicial Perspective

By
David A. Berresford

The United States of America has been a uniquely religious nation. To deny America’s religious heritage is to deny the historical reality of the American experience. Alexis de Tocqueville, a noted French historian and an individual who traveled extensively in America, stated that, “The Americans combine the notions on Christianity and liberty so intimately in their minds that it is impossible to make them conceive of one without the other.” (Barton, 1993, p.32)

This series of articles will examine this religious heritage through various historical documents and court cases and will note how a change in religious attitudes has taken place in this country over the last century. It will particularly be concerned with the impact that court decisions have had on education in America.

Colonist came to this continent for different reasons. Some came to seek their fortunes in the new world. Others came to escape political oppression. Many came for religious freedom. The Pilgrims, coming to the New World in 1620 to escape religious persecution in England and cultural assimilation in Holland, wrote in the Mayflower Compact prior to disembarking the ship, “Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and the advancement of the Christian Faith… A voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia…” (Millard, 1977, p. 19)

King James I of England, in 1606, wrote a land charter for the Virginia territory. In this charter he declares that;

To make habitation… and to deduce a colony of sundry of our People into that part of America commonly called Virginia… in propagating of Christian religion so such People, as yet live in Darkness. (Barton, 1993, p.84)

In a later charter developed in 1609, the King declares:

Because the principal Effect which we can desire or expect of this Action, is the Conversion… of the people in those parts unto the true Worship of God and Christian Religion. (Barton, 1993, p.85)

At James Forte, later Jamestown in the Virginia Colony, one of the first acts of the settlers was to erect a cross. All colonists were required to attend religious services and failure to do so lead to severe punishment.

This religious influence was not limited to the colonies of Virginia and Massachusetts. All of the original thirteen colonies were established in the light of firm Christian principals. In the 1632 Charter for Maryland, for example, King Charles described the goals for Lord Baltimore and the Colony:

[Lord] Baltimore… being animated with a laudable Zeal for extending the Christian Religion… hath humbly besought Leave of Us that he may transport… a numerous Colony of the English Nation, to a certain Religion. (Barton, 1993. p.86)

When on March 25, 1634, Lord Baltimore and his company arrived in Maryland, Father White recorded the events of the day:

We celebrated the mass… This had never been done before in this part of the world. After we completed the [mass], we took upon our shoulders a great cross… and advancing in order to the appointed place… we erected a trophy to Christ the Savior. (Barton, 1993, p.86)

Although there were religious conflicts in the Colonies, and due primarily to the attempt of supporting one Christian sect over another, the Christian heritage prevailed. Religion was even an important aspect of the Colonial education system. In Massachusetts the “Old Satan Deluder Act” was past in 1647. This law was promulgated to teach all to read the Scriptures in order to avoid falling into temptation. (Alexander, 1992, p. 19) Both Harvard and Yale Universities were founded on Christian principles. In a pamphlet made available to prospective Harvard students in 1643, the requirements included:

2. Let every Student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well the maine [sic] end to his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life, Jon17.3 and therefore to lay Christ in the bottome [sic], as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and Learning. (Barton, 1993, p.91)

Yale had similar requirements:

The Scriptures… morning and Evening [are] to be read by the students at the times of prayer in the School… studiously Indeavor[ing] [sic] in the Education of [said] students to promote the power and Purity of Religion. (Barton, 1993, p. 91)

When these Colonies made that monumental step toward their independence from England, they choose dependence upon their Creator. Thomas Jefferson, with the assistance of Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, and the mandate of the Second Continental congress declared:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. (Declaration of Independence)

The individuals who wrote and signed this document identified the Creator as the source of their rights and the origin of just government.

The first attempt at any type of a new national government came under the Articles of Association followed by the Articles of Confederation. It was under the Articles of Confederation that regulations for the newly acquired Northwest Territory were adopted. Under the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 territories that wished to become states were forbade to practice slavery, had to utilize a jury system, and had to grant religious freedom. (Northwest Ordinance Article I, II, and VI) This concept of religious freedom was not intended to enforce government opposition to religion or even government neutrality in the matter. The document clearly states that:

Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall be forever encouraged. (Northwest Ordinance Article III)

It is interesting to note how the framers of this document linked religion, morality, and education together and equated their propagation with good government and happiness. These authors also saw the public school system as the means to promote these ideals.

As the newly formed states were conducting themselves more as independent countries than a nation under the Articles and the need for a somewhat more powerful federal government became obvious, representatives from each of the states formed a Constitutional Convention. (Annals of America Vol. 3, 1976, p.95) The document they produced became the foundation for the federal republic. It was designed to provide for strong states’ rights and a workable national government that would provide such necessities as the common defense. Because of their fear of an overly powerful central government, many delegates insisted on a Bill of Rights that would protect individuals and the states from that central government. The ratifying process revealed similar opposition from such states as Massachusetts, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, and New York. (Barton, 1993, p.25)

James Madison originally proposed twelve amendments to the Constitution. (Annals of America Vol. 3, 1976, p.354) The number was reduced to ten and these amendments serve as the Bill of rights for states and individual citizens. It is the first of these amendments that concerns the topic of this discussion. It states in part:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; (U.S. Constitution amend. I)

To understand the meaning of this amendment is to understand the context in which it was ratified. What the authors intended in 1790 determines the interpretation of the document at the present. The intentions of deceased men do no change.

On September 3, 1789, the representatives began their work on the wording of the First Amendment. To examine some of the versions proposed sheds light on the concerns of these representatives.

Congress shall not make any law infringing the rights of conscience, or establishing any religious sect or society.

Congress shall make no law establishing any particular denomination of religion in preference to another, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, nor shall the rights of conscience be infringed.

Congress shall make no law establishing one religious society in preference to others, or to infringe on the rights of conscience. (Barton, 1993, p.27)

The version passing at the end of the day read:

Congress shall make no law establishing religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. (Barton, 1993 p. 27)

The version was sent to the House where a conference Committee eliminated differences in wording. Their wording is what is in the Constitution today.

After reviewing some of the earliest versions of the First Amendment, the purpose of the Congress becomes obvious. The First Amendment was designed to protect the church from the government and not the government from the church. The authors of this Bill of Rights wanted to guarantee that at no time could the federal government establish a national church and thereby usurp the rights of other religious groups.

In the next article we will examine the evolution of the court’s position on the First Amendment.