Jack Shields of Penacook is a Granite State representative for the Freedom from Religion Foundation.
As we observe the 235th anniversary of Constitution Day on September 17th, public schools across the nation are educating students on America’s founding document. Unfortunately, this year the justices of the Supreme Court are the ones most in need of a constitutional lesson.
On Sept. 17, 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention gathered in Philadelphia to sign a document that would become the world’s first secular Constitution. While far from perfect, our founders were the Enlightenment thinkers of their era, and they believed that compelling citizens to support a faith they did not follow violated their liberty.
The founders created a uniquely secular Constitution by removing the power of kings blessed by holy men and instead gave it to “we the people.” This Constitution promised those fleeing religious persecution the freedom of religion through a new government that would be free from religion.
Alexander Hamilton wrote, “[The Constitution] gives the president no particle of spiritual jurisdiction.”
“State and church will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together,” added James Madison.
In 1791 the First Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, stating in part “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” This is known as the Establishment Clause.
The New Hampshire Constitution’s Bill of Rights also addresses this issue, stating “No person shall ever be compelled to pay towards the support of the schools of any sect or denomination.”
The Blaine Amendment was added in 1887 to further strengthen the separation of church and state: “No money raised by taxation shall ever be granted or applied for the use of the schools of institutions of any religious sect or denomination.”
Thomas Jefferson in his 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptist Association declared that when the American people adopted the Establishment Clause, they built a “wall of separation between Church and State.”
Unfortunately, our predominantly Catholic U.S. Supreme Court has begun tearing down that wall separating religion and government by ruling in favor of tax dollars for private religious schools and in support of prayers after school football games.
At the state level, the Legislature, Governor Chris Sununu and his education commissioner Frank Edelblut have also flouted our Constitution by diverting tax dollars to religious schools through their so-called “Education Freedom Accounts.”
Thus today, both our state and federal tax dollars are funding private religious schools. These institutions operate with no taxpayer input over what is taught, or what level of education is achieved, all while our public schools are underfunded.
How does this comply with our Constitution’s direct admonishment to keep religion separate from government? It does not. And how does it represent New Hampshire’s population which ranks among the least religious in America? It does not.
A major shift away from religion has led to 29 percent of Americans now identifying as having “no religion” according to Pew Research. “We the people” must speak out against these pro-religious policies that violate our Constitution.
This Constitution Day let’s educate our students on our secular history, and this November, let’s vote for leaders that respect our secular Constitution. More than two centuries after our Founders met in Philadelphia, we must again reaffirm our commitment to keeping religion out of government.
There is no freedom of religion without a government that is free from religion.