Reason and Revelation

“Almighty God hath created the mind free.” Thus, in 1776, Thomas Jefferson begins the “Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom.” The freedom of the human mind means that all individuals can choose between good and evil.

The theological conviction of early Americans was that all human beings are fallen and fallible, subject to roiling passions and calming reason. As flawed but rational beings, humans should strive to let reason–a gift from God–rule their lives, for with that rule comes the possibility of self-government.

The Founding Fathers concluded that with careful cultivation of the soul, with attention to “the laws of nature and of nature’s God,” and with the uplifting assistance of family, church, and local community, America’s citizens could learn to control their passions and act worthy to receive the blessings of liberty.

Advancing one of the most revolutionary tenets in the history of ideas, America’s right to religious liberty was established as a matter of principle.

We know of human nature, natural law, and the mind’s freedom not because we are members of any particular church or denomination, but because we are able to follow reason’s path in the discovery of such truths. In other words, reason demands religious liberty.

In one of the most famous metaphors in American political and constitutional thought, Jefferson wrote of “a wall of separation between church and state.” In 1947, in Everson v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court transformed his words into constitutional law.

For many, who have listened mainly to the Supreme Court for lessons about religious liberty, the Court’s misreading of Jefferson’s metaphor has contributed to a popular misunderstanding of politics, law, morality, and religion.

The religious liberty established by the Founders does not mean the erection of a wall separating religion and politics. Rather, it was the establishment of a principle that would let religion flourish.

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