The establishment of the United States was strongly based on biblical teachings and moral values. The leaders of the revolution were God-fearing men. Many of the signers of the constitution studied in religious colleges and often were ordained ministers. Congress opened with a prayer at each session.
When congress first moved into the capital building, it authorized the building to be used for church services. By 1867 2000 people a week met for religious services. From the inception of our nation there was no separation of church and state, rather there was a direct connection between God’s teaching and our Constitutional Republic, even our currency says in God we trust.
The founders were paranoid about the establishment of a national religion similar to what happened in England. The individual’s freedom of choice is supposed to be encouraged not only in our free market economy but practiced in our religious choices according to the citizen’s conscience. There was no indication of these wise men excluding or being intolerant of any religion in the public square.
The mistreatment of Amy Coney Barrett by Senator Diane Feinstein during the 2017 Appeals Court nomination was disgraceful. After questioning Judge Barrett, the senator made the appraisal that, “the dogma speaks loudly within you, and that’s the concern.” This was an insinuation that Barrett’s Catholic moral religious attitudes would corrupt her legal judgments and decisions. If this became a litmus test for perspective judges, it would mean anyone with a strong belief in God would call into question their suitability as an impartial judge. The more intense the faith in God of the candidate, the less likely the individual would be able to be approved.
In other words, an individual’s strong belief in God would disqualify them from being a judge. In the long run this would result in judges chosen for their lack of faith in God. People who do not believe in God, atheists, would become the chosen people becoming the backbone of our judicial system.
Our jurisprudence affects all our other institutions, which would tilt us toward establishing a national religion: atheism. Our forefathers were clear they did not want a national religion. Rather they wanted freedom of choice for citizens to practice their faith in any way they would like. Separation of church and state is not stated in the constitution. The intent of these wise men was to protect religion from government domination while not excluding and separating religion from citizen’s but including it in everyone’s life.
Over the past three decades the free expression of our religious choices have been stolen from us.
Daily prayer and Bible reading, were eliminated in the 1960s in public schools, removed from graduation ceremonies in 1992 and prayer before football games in 2000. During the Coronavirus churches were claimed to be non-essential, forced to close while car dealer ships and casinos were open. Students in public schools and higher education have been indoctrinated that believing in God is an antiquated concept that is used to oppress and enslave people. Faith in God and religious conscience inhibits people from being free to do what they want at any particular moment. Living for the moment leads us from the supreme being’s teaching towards hedonism and atheism.
In most if not all nations that transformed into a communist one went through a period of over secularization. Religious beliefs of the people who believed in God were ridiculed, demeaned and cancelled in modern time. The belief in god was weakened and eventually disappeared from public acceptability or went underground. Overwhelming secularization ends in a communist or authoritarian takeover.
The United States has seen a drastic movement away from God in lower church attendance. We have become a self-absorbed nation concerned about materialistic upgrading and less and less about spiritual growth. We are mostly a secular nation with little time to devote to our relationship with God.
America is ready for a great religious awakening or we will continue to go down the path of a utopian pipe dream. This path ends in centrally controlled all powerful government in all aspects of the people’s lives. There will be no opportunity to practice one’s beliefs only following the directives of the all-powerful government. There will be no freedom of choice to practice your own religious conscience.
The choice is ours. We should turn towards God for our salvation or we will surrender all our freedoms and the world’s hope for freedom to an atheistic world of evil and hopelessness. The political signs are staring us in the eye. Either we return to God or we will be slaves to an evil, atheistic government.
Domenick Maglio, PhD. is a columnist carried by various newspapers, an author of several books and owner/director of Wider Horizons School, a college prep program. Dr. Maglio is an author of weekly newspaper articles, INVASION WITHIN and a recent book entitled, IN CHARGE PARENTING In a PC World. You can see many of Dr. Maglio’s articles at www.drmaglioblogspot.com.
