I found it a little curious that Adam Scharn’s editorial on the state of religion in United States political affairs neglected citation of written thoughts of our founding fathers with regards to establishment of religion.
Upon doing a little digging of my own, I discovered why.
If Mr. Scharn had cited any number of signers of either the U.S. Constitution or the Declaration of Independence, he would scarcely have had grounds for his ill-informed sermon against moderation and common sense.
As it turns out, most of the founding fathers had grave concerns about the influence of religion in government. Thomas Jefferson, for example, noted, “History furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government.” Thomas Paine was particularly pointed in his criticism, saying, “Of all the tyrannies that affect mankind, tyranny in religion is the worst.” Their concerns were echoed by the likes of Madison, Hamilton, Adams and Franklin.