Saturday, August 12, 2006
1st Amendment & religion
In my July 31 post I mentioned the local pastor, Rev. Greg Boyd. Martha Sawyer Allen writes in today's Star Tribune Faith section about him and how both, the religious right and the secular, tend to misinterpret the First Amendment regarding our government's involvement with religion. She says:
. . . how many people don't understand or misread the religion clause of the First Amendment.
. . . how many people don't understand or misread the religion clause of the First Amendment.
But Boyd appears to understand it perfectly. It says, in part, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. ... "
See the two parts? The religious right only reads the free exercise part. The secular left only reads the so-called "establishment" clause. Both sides are wrong when they exclude the other piece of the amendment in their understanding of what Thomas Jefferson was talking about when he wrote about the need to keep "church and state" separate. more
