What Is The Amendment For Freedom Of Religion In The United States?

What is the Amendment for freedom of religion in America? Has its meaning been twisted and distorted?

What is the First Amendment?

What is the First Amendment? It is the First Amendment to the United States Constitution which prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress. It is the constitutionally protected right provided in the religion clauses and it prohibits the federal government from making a law “respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” so it was intended to prevent a state religion like that in England at the time and to allow the nation to worship as they see proper and fitting, according to the Bible. This law or amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

What the First Amendment isn’t

What the First Amendment does not say is that we’re supposed to kick God out of the government, out of the public schools, and out of the public square. Instead of it being freedom of religion, non-believers want to make it freedom from religion, which is what the First Amendment never intended. It’s not the separation or removal of the church from the state but separation of the state compelling its citizens to practice a specific religious belief. Let me ask you, where do you find the Separation of Church and State? Is it in U.S. Constitution or in the Articles of Confederation or is it in the Amendments? How about in the Declaration of Independence? The truth is you will not find it in any legal document in the Unites States. This phrase, penned by Thomas Jefferson, was for there to be a wall of separation between church and the state (or the people) because in England, the State was the Church. It was a church-state. This is what inspired Jefferson in his memoirs and he believed that the government shouldn’t fund religion or impose it at the state level as compulsory on all its citizens. To try and use this amendment for grounds to outlaw religion in society or to prohibit it from public observance is clearly a violation of the Constitution and the First Amendment and is clearly discrimination and hatred toward believers.

Freedom from Religion?

There is an organization that is called Freedom From Religion that promotes the separation of church from the state, not as they state, “the separation of church and state.” They want to separate and isolate anything to do with Christianity, but that’s not close to what the First Amendment implies. This amendment was intended to ensure that the state would not be in charge of religion and fund it and that the nation would not impose its own religion as was occurring in the church in England. It means the government is not to authorize, condone, support or in any way enforce religion of any kind in the United States or upon the people. It had nothing to do with keeping the church out of society but keeping the government out of the church and from imposing a particular religion upon the citizens.

Overlooking the First Amendment

As I wrote earlier, nonbelievers have twisted and distorted the First Amendment to suit their own cause. In fact, this amendment was written so that the government would “not be in the business of prohibiting the free exercise thereof” (religion) and “make no law and in no way prohibit the free exercise of religion,” but sadly, that’s exactly what’s happened. They want to muzzle the gospel in society. They want to “prohibit the free exercise of religion” which is contrary to the First Amendment. Congress was ordered and in fact, Congress agreed to not establish or construct a state-sanctioned religion but most importantly, Congress is not to make any law which prohibits the free exercise of religion but the Supreme Court has done just that, usurping, as they frequently do, Congress and the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court was created for the purpose of hearing cases and dealing with difficult court cases and not to re-write laws and create their own laws through cases decided in the Supreme Court. They make these rulings the law of the land. That is the job of Congress.

Conclusion

Freedom of religion is eroding in America (and the world) because the Supreme Court have created laws which tell religion what it must do and without any respect therefore to the wishes of the people. The Supreme Court, instead of ruling on cases, has usurped the power and purpose of Congress and has made themselves as the lawmakers, thus taking over the job of Congress. No wonder that the Apostle Paul told Timothy “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1st Tim 2:1-2). Perhaps we should add prayers for the Supreme Court before they encumber Christianity with even more unfair, burdensome restrictions of which, if they could, would make our forefathers turn in their graves.  They are kicking God out of the government, out of the public square, out of the public schools, and about anywhere else they can and when tragedy strikes, they ask, “Where was God?”  I tell them, “Don’t you remember, you kicked Him out!”

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.