Posted: 1/1/2018
This is a work in progress!
Motivation
If you think religious freedom in America was only threatened, attacked, and abridged in our days you are seriously mistaken.
In The Words Of Thomas Jefferson
Excerpted from Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1777; emphasis added):
- “... That the impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired men have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavouring to impose them on others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world and through all time; ...”
- “... That therefore the proscribing any citizen as unworthy the public confidence, by laying upon him an incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolument, unless he profess or renounce this or that religious opinion, is depriving him injuriously of those privileges and advantages, to which, in common with his fellow citizens, he has a natural right, ...”
- “... Be it enacted by General Assembly that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of Religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities.”
What would Thomas Jefferson have to say today about religious freedom in America?
A Brief History Of Federal Violations Of The First Amendment
A brief history of federal breaches of religious freedom:
- Why did it take Utah almost 50 years to become the 45th state of the union in 1896? Why was Utah forced by Washington to give up polygamy in return for statehood? Utah tried since 1850 to become a state, but was repeatedly denied. President Buchanan removed Brigham Young as governor of Utah Territory in 1857-58. He sent a 2,500-man army and a new governor to Utah.
In 1862, the U.S. Congress passed the Morrill Anti-bigamy Act. This Act prohibited polygamy in the territories and disincorporated the LDS church. President Lincoln signed this unconstitutional act into law. For many other reasons, Lincoln was a terrible president (see my blog posts about Lincoln).
In 1874, the U.S. Congress passed the Poland Act, which gave authorities more power to successfully prosecute polygamists.
In 1879, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of federal laws against polygamy (Reynolds v. United States). So the law making plural marriage a crime was found to be valid. Another, very dubious, but lesser known, unconstitutional decision by the U.S. Supreme Court!
In 1882, Congress passed the Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act, outlawing “unlawful cohabitation.” thus removing the need to prove that actual marriages had occurred. The act declared polygamy a felony. It also banned polygamists from voting, holding public office, or serving on juries. Wow, this would be called religious persecution in our days! In 1885, federal officials chased and arrested lots of polygamists—while others went into hiding. The Mormons presented President Cleveland with a formal protest—to no avail. The Edmunds Act restrictions were enforced regardless of whether an individual was actually practicing polygamy, or merely stated a belief in the Mormon doctrine of plural marriage without actually participating. It also provided for a five-man Utah Commission appointed by the president to supervise all aspects of the electoral process in Utah Territory.The Supreme Court ruled, in Murphy v. Ramsey (1885), that the statute was not ex post facto because convicts were charged for their continued cohabitation, not for the prior illegal marriage.
In 1887, Congress passed the Edmunds-Tucker bill. This would confiscate LDS church property and take away the right of Utah women to vote. So the women in Utah had voting rights since 1870 and Congress took that away too. I was truly stunned to learn about this.The Supreme Court in the case Late Corp. of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. United States that upheld the Edmunds–Tucker Act in 1890
[No matter what one thinks about polygamy, did the U.S. Congress and several U.S. Presidents violate religious liberty as protected by the U.S. Constitution when they pursued the Mormons? I am afraid, they did! Only forced or involuntary polygamy should have been the basis of any federal law. What this harsh pursuit of the Mormons represents is a severe violation of We the People and federalism! This should never have happened in the history of the U.S.! There are parallels to the American Civil War fought over the secession of southern states.] - Jehovah's Witnesses story. Why were the Jehovah’s Witnesses harassed so much that they sued so often like probably no other religious organisation in the history of the U.S. (to be continued)
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