The Establishment Clause; Religious Freedom; and Getting a Grip

All sorts of people live in America. We've got folks:

• Who want freedom from religion
• Whose religious beliefs make faith look like a psychiatric condition¹

And we've got a whole lot of folks who don't fall into either or those niches. I'm one of those 'none of the above' types.

I'm also a practicing Catholic, which means that I have to care about religious freedom. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2104-2109) Even for folks who don't agree with me. (Catechism, 2106)

Getting a Grip About Freedom

The 'Bill of Rights,' as first ratified in 1791, starts this way:

"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...."
(Bill of Rights Transcript Text," archives.gov)

America's self-described 'better sort' have decided that this means nobody's supposed to talk about religion: unless they say the 'right' things.

There's another way of looking at the First Amendment, but it's what the establishment² sometimes calls "simplistic:"

"...Two clauses in the First Amendment guarantee freedom of religion. The establishment clause prohibits the government from passing legislation to establish an official religion or preferring one religion over another. It enforces the "separation of church and state." Some governmental activity related to religion has been declared constitutional by the Supreme Court. For example, providing bus transportation for parochial school students and the enforcement of "blue laws" is not prohibited. The free exercise clause prohibits the government, in most instances, from interfering with a person's practice of their religion...."
("First Amendment," LII / Legal Information Institute, Cornell University Law School)

This post started out as a footnote in Apathetic Lemming of the North. I plan to be back with today's scheduled post: but didn't want to leave this bit about the Bill of Rights as - literally - a footnote.

Related posts:

• "Freedom, 9/11, the War on Terror, and Accepting Differences"
  (September 11, 2011)
  Particularly
  • Religious Freedom: For Us; For 'Them;' For Everybody
  • Keeping America 'Safe' From Newcomers"
• "First Amendment Suspended for 9/11 Memorial Service: Wrong, but Understandable"
  (September 10, 2011)
• "Separation of Church and State, Assumptions, and Fear"
  (September 2, 2011)
  Particularly
  • The Establishment Clause, and Fear of Religious People
  • 'Stupid Religious People,' Assumptions, and Fear
  • Not-So-Stupid Religious People
• "Religious Freedom, Niemöller, and Muslims in America"
  (April 7, 2011)
• "School District Celebrates Religious Freedom Day: By Banning Bibles"
  (July 1, 2010)
  Particularly
  • 'Separation of Church and State,' State-Sponsored Religions, and Freedom From Religion

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¹ Adapted from another one of my blogs:

• "Lemming Tracks: Cathedral Repairs, Freedom, and a Ranting Lemming"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (October 5, 2011)

² I remember when 'the establishment' was mostly conservative, mostly white, and almost entirely male.

That was then. This is now:

• "What's With 'the Establishment' in this Blog?"
  (September 15, 2011)