The Bill of Rights was not part of the proposed 1787 Constitution ratified in 1788. Our Founding Fathers accepted the rights as common sense. Fortunately, a majority foresaw a need to codify our rights. In a joint resolution of Congress, 12 amendments were proposed in 1789. Ten of the proposed amendments were ratified by the states in 1791.
Each of the first ten amendments, the Bill of Rights, incorporates specific rights homogeneously. This means they are made up of parts or elements that are all of the same kind or nature.
Amendment I — 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.
Simply stated, the First Amendment guarantees that the people will not be constrained from public demonstrations of their belief system. They can question and/or challenge any government, whether federal, state, or county, down to the districts of a state.
Atheists strive to deprive religious people of their rights to influence governments. A recent example is a complaint by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. They were enraged by football players being baptized on the ball field by their coach. Reference: Atheists Furious After Teen Football Players Baptized, Todd Starnes, August 14, 2024
The atheists purported a principle of separation of church and state. Laughably, the atheists further complained baptisms are unhygienic.
This purported principle is not found in the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, or any of its 27 Amendments. In short, the separation of church and state is not a constitutional principle. It is a demonstration of ignorance of the Supreme Law of the Land.
Historically, European governments subscribed to official state religions. For example, the Church of England, the Catholic Church, and the Russian Orthodox Church. This often led to the persecution of Christians who did not subscribe to a state’s official church. Many of the earliest immigrants to the colonies that would become the United States left their European homelands state-enforced religions.
Understanding the religious history of Connecticut is essential to understanding the letters between Jefferson and the Danbury Baptists.
“During the Revolution, Connecticut Congregationalists remained almost invariably patriots; Connecticut Anglicans often became Loyalists…Congregationalism remained the established state religion until 1818, when Connecticut passed a new state constitution, replacing the laws of the old colonial charter obtained in 1662.” [Source: The Importance of Being Puritan: Church and State in Colonial Connecticut]
The metaphor “a wall of separation between church and state” originated from an 1802 exchange of letters between President Thomas Jefferson and the Danbury Baptist Association.
Jefferson’s metaphor simply assured the Danbury Baptists that no state had the authority to establish an official state religion. This was in harmony with the First Amendment.
The First Amendment begins with a prohibition of a State-sponsored religion. It closes by affirming an individual’s freedom. This includes participating in governments while considering the individual’s religious background.
Pastors were at the forefront of the American Revolution. They were such a threat to the British Empire that they were labeled “The Black Robed Regiment.”
Church leaders today fear confronting evil and wrongdoing by the government due to a 1947 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. The court was ignorant of the origin of the phrase. The court demonstrated ignorance of the Article VI definition of the Supreme Law of the Land. The ruling was in the case Everson v. Board of Education: “The First Amendment has erected a wall between church and state. That wall must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the slightest breach.”
In summary, no one belief system holds legal sway over a citizen’s right to influence government. Atheists can complain about Christians, and Christians can complain about Atheists. Neither can restrict the other from freely exercising their beliefs, and no government can adopt an official belief system.
Can public school teachers pray publicly and baptize students on public property? Yes.
Can churches endorse candidates and causes without jeopardizing their tax exemption status? Yes. The status of tax exemption is for the tithers and donors to their respective churches. So, the Johnson Amendment of 1954 is unconstitutional. Appellate courts uphold the Johnson Amendment but it will fail at the Supreme Court. Why?
Although there is no reference in the New Testament to the Church as an institution paying taxes, historically the Church, and before it the Temple, and those who ministered in the House of God (including singers and porters) were exempt from “toll, tribute or custom.” Ezra 7:24. As we shall see, this exemption continued through the Roman times, the Constantinian settlement, and into the Twentieth Century. The biblical rationale for the Church’s exemption lies in Leviticus 27:30: the tithe belongs to the Lord. Thus, when Caesar requires the church to pay a tax on the tithe, Caesar is actually taxing the Lord Jesus Christ. Presbyterian Church of America, position papers, III. TAXATION AND THE CHURCH
Knowledge is Power
Extra information:
Atheist organizations enjoy tax-exempt status as 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations.
John N. White 
