Separation of Church and State
By John M. Swomley, Professor Emeritus of Christian Social Ethics
St. Paul School of Theology, St. Louis, MO

     After the War of Independence from Great Britain in 1776, the Constitution created by the new United States was specifically a secular document which stated that “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” It also prohibited mandatory oaths.

     The First Amendment provided that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” In 1948, the Supreme Court in McCollum v. Board of Education, U.S. 333, applied the Establishment Clause to invalidate a state law.

     Perhaps the most forceful explanation of the First Amendment is in the unanimous decision of the Supreme Court in 1947 in Everson v. Board of Education: “The Establishment of Religion Clause of the First Amendment means at least this:

Neither a state nor the Federal government can set up a church. Neither can pass laws which aid one religion over another. Neither can favor or influence a person to go to or remain away from church against his will or force him to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion. No person can be punished for entertaining or professing religious beliefs or disbeliefs, for church attendance or non-attendance.

     No tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institution, whatever they may be called, or whatever form they adopt to teach or practice religion. Neither a state nor the Federal government can openly or secretly participate in the affairs of any religious organization or group, and vice versa.

     In the words of Thomas Jefferson, the clause against establishment of religion by law is intended to erect a “wall of separation between church and state.” All of the state constitutions support the church-state principle.

     President George W. Bush, however does not believe the Constitution or other legislation applies to him. Although he has not publicly declared himself above the law, he has operated, despite the law, to provide Federal money to churches that cooperate with him.

     According to the June 13 St Petersburg Times, “There are now ten separate federal agencies with offices devoted to directing tax money to faith-based groups. In a report issued in March, 2004, the White House Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives boasted that in five of those agencies alone, $1.7 billion was awarded to religiously affiliated groups in fiscal year 2003.”

     Republicans in Congress are supporting a bill that would allow religious denominations to support candidates. The “Safe Harbor for Churches” provision would reduce tax penalties for a set number of political endorsements from the pulpit and eliminate them if the endorsement was “unintentional” (Ibid.)”

     Bush’s re-election campaign is organizing “friendly congregations” to serve as recruiters and advocates for Bush and particularly to marshal voter registration drives.

     “The Bush Administration issued at least $1.1 billion in grants last year. More than a thousand religious leaders, out for federal money, attended a recent White House conference organized by the White House on Faith-based Initiatives that Bush has created. . . . The President on the one hand, is holding out the promise of billions of tax dollars to eager clerics and congregations, but on the other hand enlisting them in his re-election campaign,” stated a copyright report of the Daily Camera of Boulder, Colorado.

     President Bush, working through the Republican National Committee, has asked Catholics to give parish directories to him for use in voting campaigns and has also asked Southern Baptists and members of some other denominations for similar directories of their church memberships. It is stated that this is for non-partisan voter registration drives, but any normally intelligent person would realize it is for partisan Bush re-election purposes. Both Catholic and Southern Baptist leaders have condemned this, but no one knows how many churches have complied.

     In June the Bush campaign emailed Pennsylvania churchgoers to get 1600 “Friendly Congregations” where people can register to vote and pick up political information as the election nears.

     Bush, who claims to be a Christian and member of a Methodist church, refused to meet with Methodist bishops prior to the invasion of Iraq, knowing lthat the bishops would try to persuade him not to go to war. He prefers to use the churches to promote his personal and partisan principles or aims. Bush has addressed the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Conference for three consecutive years.

Updated Thursday, December 23, 2004