In
recent years, certain elements of the American right--mostly the "religious
right"--have made a virtual industry of the wholesale rewriting of the
history of religious liberty in the United States. Their propaganda has
taken many forms, from the relatively minor deception of peddling phony
quotations to the more systematic fraud of creating extensive and detailed
accounts of historical events that, while reinforcing, in every respect,
the propagandists' views, bear no resemblance to the actual historical
events. This sort of nonsense does a violent disservice to the great American
experiment in religious liberty. This page is our contribution to the defense
of that experiment and its principles from the charlatans who would consign
it to infamy.
Articles
James
Madison, Sean Hannity, & the Question of Congressional Chaplains
An article from our friend at Left
Hook!. On Sept. 4, 2002, Sean Hannity, Fox News Channel's cherubic
demagogue, took on a guest who was opposed to congressional chaplains.
Hannity pulled out James Madison to make his case and, in doing so, prepetrated
a fraud on his viewers. Left Hook nails the bastard, and sets the record
straight.
David
Barton Strikes Again
Another article from Left
Hook! David Barton, religious right propagandist extraordinaire, used
the resurgent controversy over congressional chaplains to launch another
of his infamous revised drafts of "history," this time aiming his guns
at James Madison. Maybe the best article yet on the Wallbuilders founder
and his methods, this one demonstrates the systematic nature of Barton's
deceptions, showing that he isn't merely a sometime-peddler of phony quotations
and occasionally inaccurate information, but a full-fledged huckster who
indulges in a comprehensive disinformation campaign.
Primary Sources & Histories
Settlement
of Rhode Island (1886)
Excerpted from Thomas Armitage's epic-length "History of the Baptists,"
this is a detailed and often quite eloquent account of the creation and
early history of Roger Williams' "lively experiment" in democracy and religious
liberty.
The
Bloody Tenet of Persecution for Cause of Conscience (1644)
Excerpted from Roger Williams' work of the same name, wherein he argues
in favor of the notion of religious liberty which underpinned his founding
of Rhode Island. I clipped this from John Roland's excellent "Liberty
Library of Constitutional Classics" site. Such excerpts, though quite
good and offering a flavor of the overall work, don't even remotely do
justice to Williams, but it would be a much greater crime to leave such
a critically important figure unrepresented, so, until we acquire a copy
of the complete volume, it's the best we can do.
"Naturally
detested..." (1647)
A meandering tirade against religious toleration by Nathaniel Ward,
one of the early Massachusetts Puritan ministers. Drawn from his "Simple
Cobbler of Aggawamm in America," it offers a glimpse into the unsettling
(and unsettled) minds of those early American Talibanists.
The
Maryland Toleration Act (1649)
The Calverts established the colony at Maryland with a mind toward
providing a refuge for Catholics, who faced persecution in England. By
about 15 years into the project, however, Protestant colonists outnumbered
Catholics, and tension between the factions prompted the introduction of
this law, an example of a policy of "toleration," rather than religious
liberty. The act failed to produce the desired result, and was consigned
to history shortly after being enacted. To the modern reader, it
presents the Orwellian spectacle of a thing called a "toleration act" which,
in its very first enactment, makes it a crime punishable by death to be
anything other than a Christian.
The
Bloody Tenet of Persecution, Made Yet More Bloody (1652)
Roger Williams' original "Bloody Tenet" drew a rejoinder from, among
others, John Cotton, one of the original Puritan founders of Boston, which,
in turn, prompted a "Bloody" sequel from Williams, from which this bloody
excerpt is drawn.
The
Flushing Remonstrance (1657)
In 1646, the Dutch made the unfortunate decision to burden their New
Netherlands colony (in present-day New York) with a director-general by
name of Peter Stuyvesant, a dictatorial slug who, among other charming
habits, was, in contravention of the policy of his mother country, a ruthless
persecutor of any non-conformists to the established Dutch Reformed Church.
In 1657, on one of his rampages, he began issuing orders to persecute Quakers,
at which point 31 courageous residents of Flushing created then signed
this remonstrance, telling Stuyvesant in eloquent, reasoned language, where
he could shove his anti-Quaker nonsense. One of the great liberal documents
of the colonial era.
...this
Disgraceful Persecution (1873)
John Abbott, in this excerpt from his largely sympathetic 1873 biography
of Peter Stuyvesant (ch. 10), outlines the religious oppression imposed
by Stuyvesant on the New Netherlands. Briefly covers the events surrounding
the Flushing
Remonstrance.
Mary
Dyer of Rhode Island (1896)
"Among the most pathetic chapters of New England history are those
that recount the sufferings for conscience sake." So begins Horatio Rogers'
1896 account of the unfortunate fate which befell Mary Dyer and her Quaker
companions in 1660, when they fell afoul of Massachusetts' murderous Puritan
theocrats. Rogers paints a vivid portrait of the merciless brutality of
the American Puritans toward dissenters, up to and including officially-sanctioned
murder.
The
second Charter of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (1663)
Roger Williams had procured a general charter of incorporation for
Rhode Island in 1644, but the Stuart Restoration in 1660 threw its legitimacy
into question, so, to sew up the legalities and protect the colony from
encroachment by neighbors, this second charter--the most liberal of the
colonial era--was sought, and, in 1663, granted by Charles II. So pleased
were the colonists with the final result that it served as Rhode Island's
constitution until 1843.
First
Letter Concerning Toleration (1689)
"...all the power of civil government relates only to men’s civil interests,
is confined to the care of the things of this world, and hath nothing to
do with the world to come." From John Locke comes something of a "transitional"
work, in thought on church/state matters. Locke outlines a case for religious
liberty, but declines to embrace its implications, falling back, instead,
on an endorsement for a "tolerance" regime (one, in this case, which doesn't
tolerate Catholics or atheists). This disconnect was apparently not missed
by William Popple, the articles' English translator (Locke had originally
written it in Latin), who writes, in his preface, that "Absolute liberty,
just and true liberty, equal and impartial liberty, is the thing that we
stand in need of... I cannot therefore but hope that this discourse, which
treats of that subject, however briefly, yet more exactly than any we have
yet seen, demonstrating both the equitableness and practicableness of the
thing, will be esteemed highly seasonable, by all men who have souls large
enough to prefer the true interest of the public, before that of a party."
A
Parable Against Persecution (1755)
Benjamin Franklin's clever satire of Biblical verse.
On
Toleration (1763)
"We know well what the price has been ever since Christians began to
dispute about dogmas. Blood has flowed, on scaffolds and in battles, from
the fourth century to our own days." Voltaire takes up his pen to protest
the horror inflicted upon a Protestant family in Toulouse by Catholic fanatics
acting under color of public authority, and, marshalling historical, utilitarian,
and even religious arguments, creates a strong treatise against intolerance.
An
Appeal to the Public for Religious Liberty Against the Oppressions of the
Present Day (1773)
Isaac Backus, a Baptist minister
from Massachusetts, was a longtime advocate of religious liberty. In this
extraordinary document, he outlines, in some detail, the unpleasantness
involved in life as a religious minority under the jack-boot of an ecclesiastical
establishment, and argues, from a religious perspective, that civil powers
have no right to make laws regarding such matters.
A
Plea Before the Massachusetts Legislature (1774)
More Isaac Backus. In these comments addressed to the Massachusetts
legislature, he compares that governments' support of the Congregational
Church to the British tyranny of which the American colonists were then
wishing to rid themselves.
Jefferson's
Draft of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1779)
The Virginia statute is one of the great statements of freedom of religion,
and its authorship is one of the three accomplishments in his life that
Jefferson asked to have inscribed on his tombstone. Written by Jefferson
in 1779, this original proposal was slightly reworked then shepherded through
the legislature by James Madison in 1786.
An
excerpt from Notes on the State of Virginia (1781)
Writing in 1781, Thomas Jefferson outlines the ugly history of religious
repression in his home state, which he properly characterizes as "religious
slavery," and makes one of his most forceful and eloquent appeals for liberty
of conscience. Magnificent work.
A
Bill Establishing A Provision for Teachers of the Christian Religion (1784)
As its title suggest, a bill proposed in the Virginia legislature for
government funding of Christianity. Patrick Henry achieved immortality
with his cry of "give me liberty or give me death," but as this act for
which he agitated testifies, religious liberty apparently wasn't included
in his version of "liberty."
Memorial
& Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments (1785)
James Madison, with this remonstrance, led the charge against the proposed
religious religious assessment in Virginia, on the grounds that it would
represent a violation of religious liberty by intermixing church and state.
He won the argument.
Of
Liberty of Conscience and Civil Establishment of Religion (1785)
A chapter on religious liberty from Richard Price's text "Observations
on the Importance of the American Revolution."
The
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1786)
In his autobiography, Thomas Jefferson, the author of the statute,
wrote of how it came to be passed:
"The bill for establishing religious freedom... I had drawn in all the latitude of reason and right. It still met with opposition; but with some mutilations in the preamble, it was finally passed; and a singular proposition proved that it's protection of opinion was meant to be universal. Where the preamble declares that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed, by inserting the word 'Jesus Christ,' so that it should read 'a departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion.' The insertion was rejected by a great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of it's protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan, the Hindoo, and infidel of every denomination."
This is the final version of the statute, as adopted by the Virginia legislature in 1786. The late Jefferson scholar Eyler Coates prepared a point-by-point comparison of the differences in it and Jefferson's original draft here.
George
Washington's exchange with the Hebrew Congregation of Newport (1790)
As a consequence of Rhode Island's foundational policy of religious
liberty, the largest Jewish community in colonial America resided in Newport.
On the occasion of George Washington's 1790 visit there, Moses Seixas,
the warden of the Congregation Yeshuat Israel, delivered the following
address to the then-President. Washington's reply, stressing that the American
experiment is one of religious liberty, and not mere toleration, follows.
An
excerpt from the Virginia Chronicle (1790)
John Leland, a prominent Baptist minister from Virginia and forceful
defender of religious liberty, writes about the persecution of religious
dissenters in Virginia prior to the American Revolution, rakes the Anglican
church over the coals for its intermingling of government and religion,
rejects the idea of mere religious tolerance (as opposed to liberty), and
denounces the payment of chaplains from the public treasury. Quite a bit
of ground covered.
The
Rights of Conscience Inalienable (1791)
A sermon from John Leland that largely appropriates--and, at times,
plagiarizes--Jefferson's argument for liberty of conscience from Notes
on the State of Virginia. Leland beats down some of the standard arguments
in favor of religious establishments, directing particular attention to
Connecticut. Also notable for having one of the best sub-titles ever (the
complete title of the piece: The Rights of Conscience inalienable; and
therefore Religious Opinions not cognizable by Law: Or, The high-flying
Churchman, stript of his legal Robe, appears a Yahoo).
"A
Sort of Mule Animal" (1792)
Thomas Paine on religious liberty, excerpted from "The Rights of Man."
Paine offers some remarks on a subject at the core of most battles between
today's liberals and the "religious right"; the very important distinction
between tolerance and religious liberty. The former is merely an indulgence
condescendingly granted by a ruling majority, and is the approach to church/state
issues most commonly advocated by today's "religious right," while the
latter holds freedom of religion as a fundamental right, and denies government
has any authority over such matters. Paine continues with some pointed
remarks on church/state unions, "a sort of mule-animal, capable only of
destroying, and not of breeding up."
Jefferson's
exchange with the Danbury Baptists (1801-1802)
An item frequently misrepresented by the religious right, this is the
famous exchange wherein Thomas Jefferson described the American experiment
in religious freedom with the phrase "wall of separation between Church
and State." Also included is the original letter from the Danbury Baptist
Association that occasioned Jefferson's response.
Letter
from Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Miller (1808)
A magnificent little mini-treatise on religious liberty. Forget a presidential
proclamation of a day of prayer and fasting; Jefferson, writing as President,
explains why using his office to even suggest a day of prayer and
fasting would be an inappropriate intrusion of government into religion:
"...civil powers alone have been given to the President of the U S. and
no authority to direct the religious exercises of his constituents."
Letter
from Thomas Jefferson to N. G. Dufeif (1814)
The subject: Censorship and religious establishments. Jefferson comes
out with both guns blazing.
Excerpt
from James Madison's "Detached Memoranda"
The "detached memoranda" were a series of handwritten documents discovered
in 1946 among the papers of Madison scholar William Cabell Rives. Undated,
they're believed to have been written somewhere between 1817 and 1832.
In this excerpt, Madison writes at length about his feelings on a number
of subjects, principally, for our purposes in this section, religious liberty.
Excerpt
from a Letter from James Madison to Edward Livingston (1822)
Madison on religious liberty. Talks about the violence done to the
principle by both congressional chaplains and presidential proclamations
of prayer and fasting.
Letter
from James Madison to Jasper Adams (1832)
Madison further delineates his views on religious liberties, discussing
the practices of other countries as well as those of the various U.S. states.