, 1874-02-22
OBJ Gbif2aDu UI2ijlbunt.
Sunday Morning, February ~, 1874


Sunday Morning, February 36s 1o14'
CREED Oh CoNsTITU1IoNq
The Judiciary Committee Of the House Of
Representatives, through Mr.. Butler, reported
few days since, as our readers will renemoer,
advcrse1y to the memorial praying for the &C
acknowledgement Of Almighty God and the Chris
tian religion in the Constitution OF the United
State5. The reputation OF the Committee for
piety msy possibly suffer throughout tile conn-
try for having made the report in question, and
it may possibly interfere with their future
canonizator by the body which sent the petition
TO Congress. As statesmen, however, as con"
sistent Republicans, as defenders Of tha Consti-
tuition Of the United States, they did only what
ali 1ove1a OF the Constitution and Of republican
institutions must approve. The action OF the
House Committee III the promises does
not by any means imply that they
do not believe iu God, or that they look
with diefavor on Christianity. Tho advocacy Of
Gods existence and OF the divine character Of
Christianity are both perfectly reconcilable
with opposition to the recognition OF either in
the Constitution Of the United States. Tho Con-
stitutioD Of the United States is q law, not q
creed It ia eyen the supreme Law Of the land,
1aw OF which all courts must take cognizance, q
law which binds the individual citizen, the sew
eral States, every word of which may be en-
forced, the violation Of any provision OF which
is attended By liability OF some kind, civil or
criminal. Into this supreme law it is proposed
to introduce an acknowledgment Of tie existence
OF Supreme Being and Of the Christian relig-
ion. Now, if the Constitution is not to become
q creed, If it is to remain what it has hitherto
been-a law-such provisions are most certainly
ont OF place in it; for, il Law, then courts
must take official notice OF these provisions, they
nusi bind the individual and must be susceptible
OF enforcement by the United States. But this
the first amendment to the Constitution ex-
prcssly prohibits. Congress, it provides. shall
mover pass law establishing religion.
The Constitution should, to say the least, be
consistent. But, in addition to being law, the
Constitution is our solemn act as people laying
down the principles by which We Rhau be GOV
erued. How cao ne then, on the Que hand, pro-
hibit tho establishment Of religion, and intro
duce an article Of religious fifth into the very
Instrument in which NC prohibit it? 4 religion
With only one article OF faith is as much re-
Igion es # ii hnd thirty-n4ne, or any other NUM-
ber OF articles The religion whose whole creed
Is summed up in AZ believe in God, " is as much
excluded from the Constitution as il it embraced,
In addition to this, II believe in the holy,
Roman, Catholic and Apostolic Church." II
fhe one can be inserted into tho Con-
stitntion Of the United states Why not
the other7 It is clear that IT VIC ''put
God in the Constitution n VIC must expungo the
provision which prohibits Congress to pass
law establishing religion. But this is not the
only Inconsistency which the acknowledgment
ct Supreme Being and Of the Christian religion
would introduce into that instrument. How can
We, aH people, profess our faith in Him, and at
the came time, and in the same formula, retain
the right to doubt whether Ho is or not, by pro-
yidipg for freedom OF conscience, or the right to
deny that He is, by retaining that OF freedom Of
speech, or to argue, write, and publish that He
is net, or that if Ho is He is not movable. by
clirging to the freedom OF the press 2 Should ne
Introduce into our highest la~s tle dogmas in
question, We would be making Of it q very in
consistent md even contradictory instrument,
hot wholly a creed, and, get, not wholly q
taw. Such a. profession Of faith in Gods
existence ard in the Christian religion would be
more than an Inconsistency and contradiction,
howevar,-it would be q falsehood. AL the
people Of the United States do not accept the
Christian religion. There are some even who
do not believe in Gods existence. There are
those who neither affirm nor dsny His existence,
but content themselves with saying that they =!
have no data on which to ground 3 belief. 4
majority Of the people Of this country may be-
t;eye in both, but the majority, in matters OF re-
lgion, are not the "people" Of the United |
Bta1es. They arc the "people" only in polit1
cal matters. The majority in these United !
States va delegate to make our ordinary laws,
and, Under certain restrictions, our Constitution
sven. We do not delegate to them the power to
make our creeds, our faith, or even our opin-
ions. Faiths and creeds are personal, not polti-
,al, matters. I
To acknowledge God and the Christian 1elig-
on In the Constitution would be to the extent of
hese two articles to constitute IN this country
relation OF Church and State. This wonld be the
ehect Of making them constitutional provisions
n afdrmations-or they would have no effect
whatever.
Nothing would be gained By granting the peti-
ion OF the memoria1ists. To "put God in the
would not make one convert to The
sm, nor increase the faith Of q single person in
His existence while it would excite the ridicu1e
Il those opposed to it. To put the Christian
religion in the Constitution would be, as ne hare