Foremost in the minds of the Framers of the Constitution was freedom of opinion, thought and expression, particularly those thoughts and expressions which are not subject to reasoned discourse and which govern the moral relationship between women and men and the universe around them.
The Framers had a remarkable document as a model for their deliberations, the Virginia Act for Religious Freedom (1786), written by Thomas Jefferson.
Jefferson regarded the Religious Freedom Act as one of the crowning achievements of his life. It was one of three accomplishments which he instructed be engraved on his tombstone, along with the composition of the Declaration of Independence and the foundation of the University of Virginia.
The central part of the Act reads:
"...We, the General Assembly of Virginia do enact that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested or burthened in his body or goods, or shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities."Jefferson's intention and the opinion of the times as to the universal nature of religious feelings, are clearly stated in his autobiography:
"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 words '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 the great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohammedan, the Hindoo and Infidel of every denomination."Some of our contemporaries claim -- by their faith and belief -- the prejudices of their opinion should become the law of the land. This is anathema to the principle of religious freedom on which our democratic republic is based. Tyrannical prejudices, superstitions and bigotries can be found in the political program of restricting liberties in the matters of:
*an education in the laws of nature, free from cant and superstition, available to all and supported by all.
*the right of privacy in matters of medical choice and practice.
*the right of equal participation in society regardless of perceived differences in sexual orientation, heritage, creed, or physical ability.
*the right of children to be free from physical, sexual and emotional abuse in the family.
*the right to free discourse and expression, even on subjects entailing strong emotions and generating offense, but not injury.No one should have the slightest difficulty in supplying concrete examples of all of the above infringements of the most basic and essential freedom.
In his famous letter to the Baptists of Danbury, Jefferson coined the phrase, "a wall of separation between church and state." Given that this wall was erected to protect the liberty of religious conscience and practice, what then is the responsibility of religion in maintaining its freedom?
The issues which are being used as wedges to divide the people from their liberties are issues of moral values -- rightly the province of religious speculation, and clearly not a matter for secular law. In order to preserve the freedom of religious opinion and expression embodied in the First Amendment, it behooves all people -- regardless of creed or faith -- to clearly recognize, study and act upon the conviction that the rights of any member of society cannot be infringed without diminishing the rights of all.
The salt of civility and light of reason and can illuminate and season our political feast. The meek must not be deprived of their rights by silence, for the seas of liberty cannot be sailed without encountering storms of opinion. Truth and the pursuit of truth must not be suppressed, lest we founder on the shores of error. It is the essential purpose of the First Amendment that error be cast out by an informed public, a public which jealously protects its right to know of its own affairs.
The Virginia Act for Religious Freedom states,
" ... that truth is great and will prevail if left to herself; that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist of error, and has nothing to fear from that conflict unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them."When truth speaks, she may rightly be contemplated in silence, but error demands a reply.