They Say God Is In The Constitution
It is a favorite argument of religious Republicans that the founders of the Constitution recognized one god and that it is clear from the writings that the nation was intended to be respectful of that god. You can say it many other ways, but the intent and the meaning are the same. Religious Republicans want the world to believe that the Constitution doesn't mean what it says, particularly with regard to church and state.
Conservatives have long and correctly argued that the Constitution is a document to be read and understood by its words. They meant, "It says what it means and it means what it says!" When the Constitution talks about the separation of church and state, it means SEPERATE. Any amount of maneuvering around the subject is irrelevant.
Most pro-theocracy arguments by the religious right include some reference to the words god or creator used by the framers of the Constitution in personal writing and in the Declaration of Independence and other documents. Indeed, these were mostly religious men, but they were also wise men. Unlike the religious Republicans who want and argue for a set of religious rules in government, they understood that government plus religion equals cancellation of individual rights. The framers of the Constitution were very much in favor of individual rights. They believed (as their writings and the Constitution itself demonstrate) that individual rights and freedom were the cornerstones of a free society. They understood that the best way to ensure a free society was to leave everyone free and unshackled by religious rules so that everyone could individually choose to believe as they saw fit.
That model of freedom (as built into the Constitution) protects individuals from the governmental controls that clerics would put upon them in a religious society without such guarantees of freedom. When, for example, a religious zealot says, "Homosexuality is a sin, therefore gays should not be allowed..." the second half of the statement directly contradicts the spirit and the word of the Constitution. It is perfectly fine that someone chooses to believe that homosexuality is a sin based upon their religious beliefs. That person should think twice before engaging in homosexual acts. It is not fine, it is anti-american to restrict the freedoms of homosexuals because your religion contradicts the Constitution.
So, is there room for God in the Constitution? Yes, of course! Each and every person is granted to inalienable right to believe in his or her own god, or not. It is the beauty of this country and its constitution. The freedom is there to use at will. There is also the protection it offers. It protects the exercise of those beliefs so that those who believe differently cannot force another belief upon the protected. We all are protected. It is a wonderful thing that we conservatives should not allow the Republicans of the Religious Right to undermine.
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In the United States we have for centuries now, honored the protection of individual freedoms. Thousands have died fighting for those freedoms and oh how sad they would be to know we are on the brink of abolishing them. - Jenny Jerrome
