The Priceless Heritage of Liberty

In the very heart of Washington, D.C., capital of the United States, stands the Supreme Court Building. Greek in design, this beautiful marble structure is truly a symbol of the principles for which the na­tion stands—"liberty under law" with "com­plete separation of church and state." These are foundation pillars of the Constitution of the United States.

There is in man a natural tendency to try to subject others to himself. "I'm the king of the castle" is a childish version of this innate desire. One of the sad revela­tions of history is that while men grow physically from childhood to manhood, so many never completely shed childish ideas.

It is comparatively easy to recognize one's own inalienable rights, but it is more dif­ficult to grant those same rights to others. Freedom to worship the living God in one's own way, or not to worship at all, is one of those rights and was so recognized by the founding fathers of America. And it is interesting to note that the very first amendment of the Constitution of the United States declares the principle, which has made this nation great:

Congress shall make no law respecting an estab­lishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

More than a century earlier John Milton, poet and secretary of state under the Crom­well government of England, is credited with saying, "Give me the freedom to know, to think, to believe, and to utter freely, according to conscience, above all liberties." Yes, these are of all liberties the greatest. But in certain areas of earth such liberty is neither understood nor recognized. Even in this land influences are at work that would rob us of the freedom so dearly bought.

In a recent book, Christian Principles and National Problems, Ostheimer and Delaney, the joint authors, declare: "The doctrine of the Church . . . is that the State must profess and promote not any religion, but the one true form of worship founded by Christ and continuing today in the Catholic Church alone. . . . The non-Catholic and the non-baptized should be permitted to carry on their own form of worship as long as there would be no dan­ger of scandal or perversion to the faith­ful. In a country where the majority are Catholics, the practice of Protestantism or paganism by an inconspicuous minority would be neither a source of scandal nor perversion to the adherents of the true Faith."—Pages 98, 99. But what would be the attitude of this dominant group if what is referred to as "an inconspicuous minority" began to grow rapidly in num­bers? It is easy to see that such reasoning undermines the very principle of personal liberty. Freedom in one context only is really not freedom at all. Liberty to choose one's faith, to change one's faith, and to propagate one's faith, is a priceless heritage for which men and women of earlier gen­erations gave their all, even life itself. Separation of church and state is a divine principle laid down by God and empha­sized in the teachings of our Lord Himself, who said, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."

The right to believe what one wants to believe is important, but the right to prop­agate is equally important. But this is de­nied by certain leaders of thought today. For example, Father Eugene K. Culhane, managing editor of America, a Roman Catholic journal, after visiting one partic­ular country where persecution of non-Catholics has astounded the free world, is credited with saying that there would be no religious trouble there at all if Protest­ants would only obey the law and stop making converts. But Protestants, Roman Catholics, Moslems, Jews, Buddhists, or any other religion, should have the right to propagate their faith and make converts. It is a God-given right and should be recog­nized and upheld by the state. Nothing short of this is true freedom. Liberty has been bought at a tremendous price. Rivers of blood have flowed to gain this freedom. "I do not agree with what you say but I would die to give you freedom to say it," declared one great champion of the cause of liberty. The rights of minorities and in­dividuals must be recognized and main­tained. Only thus can a nation or a church fulfill her divine purpose. Long live liberty!

R. A. A.