George Washington and Pope Leo – defenders of religious freedom
by Bob Topper
1286 words
In his farewell address, Washington warned of the danger of political parties. He believed that loyalty to a party over the nation would divide the country and he feared that cunning individuals would use party power for revenge and their own gain.
As America celebrates its 250th year, Washington’s fears have been realized. Our nation is divided; Republicans value loyalty to their party over loyalty to the Constitution and Trump regularly uses party power to seek revenge and add $billions to his personal wealth.
The contrast between Washington and Trump is glaring. Washington was reserved, cultivated, courteous, patient, self-effacing, and a reluctant public servant. He trusted American democracy and had no desire to become a king. Trump is bombastic and boastful, self-promoting and self-absorbed, the very opposite of the way Washington believed a public servant should behave. And Trump acts more king-like than presidential, often bypassing Congress.
Washington also believed strongly in the core principle of the separation of church and state, specifically that the federal government should not establish an official state religion or interfere with an individual’s freedom of conscience.
To celebrate our 250th anniversary, the Trump administration offered a faith rally, officially named “…National Jubilee of Praise & Thanksgiving” to rededicate the nation “under God.” Christian speakers said that Founders infused the government and the Declaration of Independence with biblical principles and Trump gave a campaign-style speech, in which he emphasized protecting America’s Christian identity. He argued that faith is the foundation of America’s greatness, national success, and freedom. He said little about the core principles that Washington cherished, that truly made America great.
Trump and his co-presenters were not celebrating the nation’s founding; they were spreading a religious propaganda that wholly mischaracterizes both the founders’ ideology and the aspirations of the American Revolution, which threw off the dual tyrannies of altar and throne. Yet, Christian fundamentalists, Trump’s core constituency, accept this twisted view of the historical record as though it were established fact.
But the founders did not rely on divine guidance, and the core principles, liberty, equality, and democracy do not stem from the bible. The founders were guided by the Enlightenment philosophers of the 17th and 18th centuries whose values became our founding principles. The phrase “under God” was penned in 1954, 178 years after the founding, when it was added to the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Enlightenment philosophers:
· John Locke (English): argued that people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property. He championed the “social contract,” asserting that governments exist only by the consent of the governed and that all men a created equal.
· Montesquieu (French): proposed the separation of powers into legislative, executive, and judicial branches to prevent tyrannical government.
· Baruch Spinoza (Dutch): believed that God and Nature are one and the same (pantheism), that humankind should rely on reason, not religion and the bible should be regarded as nothing more than an historical text.
· Jean-Jacques Rousseau (French): embraced The Social Contract, arguing that legitimate political authority comes from the “general will” of the people.
· Adam Smith (Scot): wrote The Wealth of Nations, advocating free-market capitalism.
· Voltaire (French): criticized religious intolerance, censorship, and the abuses of the Catholic Church in France.
Unquestionably, Enlightenment philosophy guided Jefferson when he wrote in the Declaration of Independence, “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.”
Jefferson was a Deist. By “Creator,” he did not mean the God of Abraham; he meant “Nature’s God.” Like Spinoza, he rejected organized religion, miracles, and holy books, and believed that human beings should rely on reason and science to understand the world.
America is the most important outcome of the Enlightenment. To say it was a founded on biblical principles is a denial of factual history.
Liberalism is also a product of the Enlightenment, and John Locke is often called its father. America’s core values and the core values of liberalism are one and the same.
Ironically, our founding principles are not Christian. Liberty? Christianity demands belief in Christ the Savior, and adherence to dogma and subjective rules of conduct. Equality? Christians believe they are “God’s chosen people,” a special class of humanity destined to be saved while others are dammed. And the bible counseled slaves to be “faithful to their masters.” Democracy? The Catholic church with 1.4 billion members, more than half of Christianity, is a structurally religious autocracy. And 57% of white evangelical Protestants favor authoritarian, strict, social control over democratic norms.
For most of our 250-year history, Christians were satisfied with the First Amendment’s protection of their religious freedom, which gave them the right to evangelize, to follow Jesus’s charge to “make disciples of all nations.” But over the past 50 years the number of believers has declined sharply. Their evangelism having failed, fundamentalists turned to spreading their faith through political power.
With the rise of MAGA, fundamentalists now dominate the Republican party. Russell Vought, Trump’s head of the Office of Management and Budget, was the chief architect of Project 2025, a plan to remake America so that it conforms to his White Christian Nationalist vision, that is, a theocratic Christian nation, which is a certain violation of the First Amendment. To understand how completely Christian fundamentalists have compromised Jefferson’s principle of the separation of Church and state, a White House website marking our 250 years is titled “America Prays.”
The Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision shows the reach of fundamentalist influence. Dominated by conservative Christians, the Roberts Court overturned Roe, eliminating the constitutional right of women to control their own bodies. When that authority was returned to the states, those with Christian majorities quickly passed abortion bans, imposing Christian doctrine on non-Christians. Other Supreme Court decisions involving Montana and Maine will also transfer millions of tax dollars to religious schools, forcing taxpayers to fund the religious indoctrination of children—another clear violation of the establishment clause.
Both Christian and Muslim extremists have often viewed liberalism’s commitments to freedom and equality as threats to their authority and worldview. Muslim extremists resorted to terrorism to protect their beliefs. The resulting violence was condemned by most of the world including many peace-loving Muslims. But few Islamic leaders condemned their violent tactics.
Now Christian extremists are undermining America’s liberal democracy so they too can protect their beliefs. Yet, while mostChristians want America to remain religiously diverse, few Christian leaders defend American values of liberty, equality, and democracy.
Pope Leo is an exception. In his letter congratulating the United States on its 250th anniversary he wrote, “[America] gave enduring voice to the ideals of liberty, equality, the pursuit of happiness, justice and democratic self-government.” And he continued with:
“…among the most cherished of these principles is religious freedom — the right of every person to worship according to conscience and to practice their faith openly, without coercion or fear. In marking this anniversary, it is important to recognize that freedom of religion has long been central to the American promise, protecting both individual dignity and the peaceful coexistence of a diverse people.
“This same freedom has permitted the Catholic Church to take root and flourish within the United States, to the advantage not only of her own members, but of the entire nation.”
Like George Washington, Pope Leo understands that religious freedom protects every person’s conscience—not only the beliefs of the majority. That freedom can survive only when government remains neutral toward religion.
Fundamentalists should follow their example: to protect religious freedom, including their own, the separation of church and state is not optional — it is essential.
–end–
Bob Topper, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is a retired engineer.
peacevoice