By Harry T. Cook

A number of our Founding Parents were undeniably religious . . . after a fashion. Many of those among the political elite were deists, which means they were not theists – not an unimportant distinction. Deists are by nature mostly agnostic, not so all-fired sure of the “truth” of their belief systems and therefore not so dangerous to the body politic.

Demonstrably a deist, George Washington, while he laid his left hand on a Bible at his first inauguration, did so because in a largely illiterate nation, the one uniting symbol of most people was a copy of that book. Washington refused Anglican last rites and otherwise gave organized religion a wide berth. Jefferson was a confirmed agnostic.

Lincoln did not frequent church, avoided the clergy whenever possible. He used the cadences and vocabulary of the King James Bible because that was among the few books available to him as a young man.

The founders coined the genius of America by leaving us one of the clearest statements ever in jurisprudence. And I quote: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . . And thus it has been since 18 December 1791.

Those 16 words, only seven of them with more than one syllable, created an environment that enabled people to practice whatever religion their hearts desired or to avoid altogether the strictures of its rites, ceremonies and doctrines. Is this a great country or what?

Answer? Sometimes, “Or what.” Zealous Christians in the Detroit, Michigan suburb of Berkley tried mightily last fall to enact by referendum an ordinance that would have required the city to display a nativity scene on public land – land belonging to the Jewish and the Muslim and the Hindu and the Christian and the agnostic and the atheist people of that little city – and the non-Christians could just suck it up.

It was known that lawyers from the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union stood waiting in the wings to make a constitutional challenge to the proposal, had it passed. As it turned out, a majority of voters decided to avoid the clash and allow Jesus, Mary and Joseph to freeze to death in front of the city’s churches than down at city hall.

The disappointed Christians grumbled about being persecuted and having their freedom of religion infringed blah, blah, blah.

Here’s how Christianity is persecuted in this country:

You can scarcely drive three blocks in any direction in any city of any size and not see a church. Assuming that each congregation owns the building its members occupy and the land on which it sits, not a cent of property tax is assessed against it.

However, should the parson suffer an attack of the vapors while preaching the Word and collapse in the pulpit, an usher would call 911 and the EMT people would shortly appear. Should the incense pot overheat and set the nave ablaze, soon enough the fire department would respond apace.

In most municipalities, a church’s trash, if properly contained and put out on the right day, is collected at the curb free of charge – a service for which residents and businesses pay in their property taxes.

The rectory, parsonage or manse – if owned by the church and let out to the pastor as provided housing – also escapes the tax rolls.

Tell me again how Christianity is persecuted.

 © Copyright 2008, Harry T. Cook. All rights reserved. This article may not be used or reproduced without proper credit.