E-mail
Print
RSS
G-bookmarks
Live
TechnoratiEven liberal Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas—whom no one ever accused of being a member of the Religious Right—wrote, "We are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being.... When the state encourages religious instruction or cooperates with religious authorities by adjusting the schedule of public events to sectarian needs, it follows the best of our traditions. For it then respects the religious nature of our people and accommodates the public service to their spiritual needs. To hold that it may not would be to find in the Constitution a requirement that the government show a callous indifference to religious groups. That would be preferring those who believe in no religion over those who do believe. We find no such Constitutional requirement which makes it necessary for government to be hostile to religion and to throw its weight against efforts to widen the effective scope of religious influence."
Douglas was right that America's institutions presupposed the existence of a Supreme Being. At the beginning of the Republic, the Founders in the Declaration of Independence appealed to the "Supreme Judge of the World" for the rectitude of their intentions and, with a firm "reliance on the protection of divine Providence," pledged to each other their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. They rebelled against their king because he subverted those rights which they felt had been "endowed by their Creator" on all men.
Law professor Eugene Volokh makes it clear that Newdow doesn't have a legal leg to stand on. He points out that the "Establishment Clause argument about the inaugural prayers is foreclosed by Marsh v. Chambers (1983), which held that legislative prayers are generally constitutionally permissible, even to the extent they may endorse religion, because of the long tradition of such prayers dating back to the same Congress that proposed the Establishment Clause.... [The] argument about the 'so help me God' in the oath is likely also foreclosed by Marsh, given the long tradition of 'so help me God' in oaths." As concerns the free exercise argument, Volokh responds that the argument is "foreclosed by the requirement that the government action must 'substantially burden' the claimant's religious practice. Under the case law that has developed as to substantial burden, being offended at the government's use of religious language in a government ceremony would not qualify."
Undaunted by the facts or the law, Newdow, nevertheless, persists in his war on religion in America. He will not be content until God has been given the heave-ho from the public square.
Newdow and company believe that man is the measure, that man is the center of the universe, and that the rights we enjoy come from government, not from God. They are certainly entitled to their own opinions, but, to paraphrase Daniel Patrick Moynihan, they are not entitled to their own facts. The fact is that American political history is inextricably bound up with religious tradition. All the denials in the world won't negate that fact.
Therefore, expect that President Obama will close his oath with the words "so help me God" and, when he closes his speech, he is likely to ask that God bless America—all in the finest American tradition.
Ken Connor is Chairman of the Center for a Just Society in Washington, DC and a nationally recognized trial lawyer who represented Governor Jeb Bush in the Terri Schiavo case. Connor was formally President of the Family Research Council, Chairman of the Board of CareNet, and Vice Chairman of Americans United for Life. For more articles and resources from Mr. Connor and the Center for a Just Society, go to www.ajustsociety.org. Your feedback is welcome; please email info@ajustsociety.org.
ThomasOfDoubt »
Agree: 
Disagree: 
