Our forefathers had great foresight when they penned the
Constitution. They realized that building a strong nation
could not happen without the help of the Lord and in the
First Amendment they made sure that the government
would not establish a religion nor prohibit the expression
of religion.
At the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin,
perhaps one of our most liberal forefathers, set the tone for
the writing. He realized that they had been meeting to draft
a guiding document for a new nation and had neglected to
seek the Creator. After the following speech overflowing
with biblical allusions, all future sessions were commenced
with prayer.
On June 28, 1787 Benjamin Franklin boldly said, “I
have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more
convincing proofs I see of this truth—that God governs
in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the
ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can
rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred
Writings, that ‘except the Lord build the House, they labor in
vain that build it.’ I firmly believe this, and I also believe that
without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political
building no better than the builders of Babel.”
As they penned the Constitution, they assured that future
government agencies, like schools, would not control reli-
gion or silence the convictions of a religious people.
The First Amendment of the United States Constitu-
tion states:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...”
This Establishment Clause declares that no govern-
ment agency can act in any way to establish a religion or
do anything to stop the expression of religion. Thus, the
government cannot force religious beliefs on others and
cannot roadblock religious activity.
“….abridging the freedom of speech, or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government
for a redress of grievances.”
This Free Exercise Clause clarifies that the government
cannot roadblock the freedom of speech so freely given to
those living in this great nation.
"Right now in our culture there is a battle between what the Lord says
to be the truth and what other beliefs and philosophies espouse."
The courts have equated public school teachers as
arms of the government since they are supported
by public dollars.
Thus, a public school teacher cannot establish his or her reli-
gion in that classroom. In other words, the Christian educa-
tor cannot use their public position to force their beliefs on
students. However, the school staff cannot use its power to
ban the free exercise of religion in the school.
I remember my first year as a high school principal. One
of our teachers stopped in after school quite shaken by
something that had happened at the end of the day. I’ll call
him David.
David asked to meet behind closed doors saying he had
made a major error in judgment while left alone with a
student. As I tried to settle him down in my office, my mind
raced with the terrible acts he might have committed.