The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1873-08-21
No Religious Intolerance in Ohio,


No Religious Intolerance in Ohio,
1t cost efforts, Us the several state COY
ernments of the United States We're formed,
to keep blind zcalots from forcing Il recog-
milton of this OF that form of religion in
the fundamental law, and thus establish
an abhorred union between church and
state. The provision in the constitution
of the United States against religious test
rs a qualification for Office was not car
ried without opposition sAnd in both state
and nation the attempts to override the Just
and wholesome provisions upon this subject
have been frequent and obstinate. For
two or three years past grave conventions
of doctors of divinity and lesser lights in
the sectarian world have met for the
avowed purpose Of putting God into the
constitution There has seemed to per
wade these shepherds a restless longing to
lay their hands upon the works of the
fathers of the republic. and to bend the
forces of the government to purpose that
those fathers most decidedly opposed. De
feated they have returned again and
again to the contest, until il seems a.
though vigilance against their efforts must
be constant to be successful. If they sue
ceed, the history of this country may be
read in that of every other land where
ifrin bnG
sought to be enforced by law.
The most plausible form which this
dangerous spirit has taken Of late has been
in connection with public education. The
reading of what is known as the Protestant
Bible has been made a part of the daily
exercise of public schools, and sought to
be enforced upon the children of Catholics.
Jews and other sects that reject the King
James version of the scriptures. In New
York, Ohio, and other states. great dis
satisfaction has grown ont of this practice,
and thousands Of children have been de-
prived of the benefit of the schools, which
their parents contributed to support, be
cause they would not be outraged in mat
tiers of conscience.
For these reasons we think 4 majority
of the people Of this country will be much
gratitied at the recent decision Of the
Supreme Court of Ohio, upon the question
Of enforcing the reading Of the Bible in
the public schools of that State. The
Board of Education of Cincinnati passed
and enforced the following resolution
Resolved That religious instruction and the
reading of religious book, including the Holy
Bible. are prohibited in the common schools Of
Cincinnati, it being the true object and intent Of
this rule TO allow the children of the parents Of
all secS and opinions, in matters Of faith and
worship, to enjoy alike the benefit of the com
mon school fund
Certain tax payers of that city, whose
zeal in matters of religion outran their
discretion as citizens, petitioned the Su
preme Court to compel the School Board
to refrain from their course, and to restore
the reading of the Bible. After having
been in the court for a long time, Il de-
cision has just been rendered, sustaining
in the fullest manner the right of the
Board to make and enforce the rule above
quoted, From the opinion drawn by
Judge Welch, we take pleasure in laying
before our readers the following extracts:
The only foundaton-rather, the only excuse
for the proposition, that Christianity is part
of the law of this country, is the fact that it is a
Christian country, and that its constitutions
and laws are made by Il Christian people. And
is not the very fact that those laws do not at
tempt to enforce Christianity, OF to place it
upon exceptional or vantage ground. itself ::
strong evidence that they are the laws of IA
Christian people, and that their religion is the
best and purest of religion? 1t is strong evil
dence that their religion is indeed religion
without Hypocrisy" True Christianity asks
no aid from the sword of civil authority. 1t
began without the sword, and whenever il has
taken the sword it has persisted by the sword
To depend on civil authority for its enforce
ment is to acknowledge its own weakness
which it can never afford to do. 1t is able to
fight its own battles. Its weapons are moral
and spiritual, and not carnal. Armed with
these, and alone, it is not afraid nor ''ashamed'
to be compared with other religions, and to
withstand them single-handed. And the very
reason why it is not so afraid or "ishamed" is,
that it is not the power of man, but s. the
power of God" on which it depends. True
Christianity never shields itself behind MAORI
Ties. Nero, duu Inc otLtl prosecuting roman
emperors were amply supported by maorities /:
and yet the pure and peaceable religion Of Christ
in the end triumphed over them all; and il was
only when it attempted itself to enforce religion
by the arm of authority, that it began to wanc.
A form of religion that can not live under equal
and impartial laws ought to die, and sooner or
later must die.
Properly speaking there is no such thing As
'religion of State" What we mean by that
phrase is, the religion of some individual, or set
of individuals, taught and enforced by the State.
The State can have no religious opinions and
if it undertakes to enforce the teachings of such
opinions, they must be the opinions of some
natural person, or class of person. If it en-
banks in this business, whose opinion shall it
adopt? IT it adopts the opinions of more than
one man, or one class of men, to what extent
may it group together conflicting opinions? And
where this conflict exists, how thorough will
the teaching be? Will it be exhaustive and
exact, as it is in elementary literature and in
the sciences usually taught to children? and, if
not, which of the doctrines of truth claimed by
each will be blurred over, and taught in prefer
ence to those in conflict? These are difficulties
which we do not have to encounter when teach
ing the ordinary branches of learning. 1t is only
when we come to teach what lies ''beyond the
scope of sense and reason'-what from its very
nature can only be the object of .tdHh-that we
encounter these difficulties Especially is this