More Twisted Logic To Justify a Constitutionally Mandated Christian Theocracy
Monday, December 14, 2009 at 10:48AM
It is amazing how some people reason. I mean, it is like they have the answer they want and then twist the evidence for their own needs. Article VI of the Constitution reads "no Religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or Public trust under the United States." Call me crazy, but my interpretation is that the clause is religious-neutral. Any individual shall not be disqualified from federal office because of that individual's religious practice, or none at all. Somehow, the people over at the American Family Association find it a pro-Christian clause. Really:
The individual states were free to make denominational allegiance a condition of public service. But since the federal government would of necessity include individuals from all the various states, the Founders determined that members of any Christian denomination could serve in the federal government without restriction. There would be no denominational restriction at the federal level, although states retained the liberty to apply one at their level. . .
Clearly, then the point of Article VI in the federal Constitution was to allow all Christians of whatever denomination - "whether protestant, or catholic, or presbyterian or episcopalian, &c." - to serve in the national government. Rather than being an anti-Christian plank, it was an explicitly pro-Christian plank, affirming the different manifestations of Christianity in all its varied hues, and an expression of tolerance and inclusivity for members of all Christian faiths.
So let's have done with the shallow and historically misguided attempt to turn Article VI into an anti-religious screed. It was nothing of the sort.
Article VI is neither pro-religion, nor anti-religion. Is the author of this article claiming that the federal government could prevent a Jew, a Muslim, a Hindu or an atheist (among others) from serving at the federal level? No one argues that the article is anti-religious, but some Christians love to feign persecution. But, on thing is for sure, Article VI is "not explicitly pro-Christian". If our Founders, in their wisdom, wanted Article VI to be explicitly pro-Christian, they would have said so. If our Founders wanted a pro-Christian article, why didn't our Founders write:
One's membership in a particular Christian denomination shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States
Our Constitution does not say that, but maybe the individuals over at American Family Association read it as such. Stop putting words into our Founder's mouths and distorting our Constitution. It is very un-American, and un-Christian.



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