The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1882-04-11

United StateA" q. s. Constitution. Ar
dele vi, Section 5.
9 Congress shah make no law respect
ing An estabIishment of religion or pro-
hibifing the free exercise thereof" Amend
lnsut % Constitution, Article Z No Coz
necti0n between church and state, and no
religious test shall ever be required as
qualification for oAice b the true policy
Of the governmeut.
1, The reason i, that religion is . matter
Exclusively between man and his Cressor.
Il was for civil and religious liberty that
our fofefathers braved the storms of
an unknpwn sea, contended against the
savage and his prey, and endured cold and
hunger In an unknown cline. Man must
and viii have right to worship God 40
cording 10 the dictates of his own con-
sciencs, and no human power can justly
take that right away from him, nor COM
pei him to any mode of worship, or to
support any particular church. He may
BE forced to sssdhe the appearance Of
conforming to . system of worship,
against his conscience, in obedience to
the laws Of state; yet he will be always
seeking some plan to throw of the yoke.
To convince man against his will
He will be of the same opinion stili.n
The great German Philosopher, Kant,
truly says, That combination to main
tain an unalterable religious system, which
no man is permitted to call in doubt,
would, even for the term of one mans
life, be wholly intolerable. Il would be
as it were to blot out one generation in
the progress of the human species towards
better condition, to render it barren and
hence obnoxious to posterity."
The same will apply to governments, or
states, as well as churches. The state
has no right to try to exercise any con-
troll over the conscience of man; he is q
free agent, and viii act and think for
himself; but for church and state to
unite, Tor attempt to, As has been done in
Utah. and not allow its subjects to call
In doubt their forms and rules, and allow
no one to hold Office unless he subscribes
to their rules of faith, il maintaining a
principle that our knowledge of divine
things cannot advance like that of natural
things; that the first Investigators of
scripture exhausted their contents for
those who came after them, and the franz
ers OF the constitution and laws of state
made them perfect, and that there was
nothing left for the followers to do; but,
as johnson says of the followers of Shake
speare, "to new name their characters and
repeat their phrases; )" this does injustice
to the g word Of God," granting its lead
ing principles may be discerned-a thing
di4'c"it i. the face Of two hundred con-
hicting sects, where each finds his doc
trine in the Bible, or to use the favorite
quotation of Sir William Hamilton,
This the Book where each his dogma seeks"
This the Book where each his dogma inds
1t does injustice to the inhabitants of .
state to say, that they are not as capable
of making laws as the founders of it were,
and that no one shall hold Office unless he
shall subscribe to certain rules of faith.
The Mormons forget, or perhaps they
never knew, that men were created with
different inclinations in mind; that per
sons raised in the same church and under
the same form of government, have differ
ent notions in relation to worshiping God,
and in regard to governing and making
laws If we had no opposition in religion
or in government affairs-loeked to one
man for light and direction, and permit
ted no one to call in doubt, ~ the Nor
mons do, we would soon become the most
idle and stupid beings in existence, NOV
ing only when necessity required. Every
historian win admit that whenever there
has been connection between church
and state, and church membership was
made q qualification for Office, that the
government became the dupe of religious
intolerance and its subjects the slaves of
petty tyrants.
They assert their saintship par erceL
Lcaee, the earth their patrimony, and look
for universal dominion, both temporal and
spiritual They have sworn
all allegiance to the head of the church as
Supreme POntif, Prophet, Priest and
King" This is contrary to the spirit of
our Institutions Every citizen Is in
duty bound TO support the Constitution
of the United States, obey the laws and
abjure al other allegiance. "We have
no other oath Of allegiance than that
which every officer and every natural
ised citizen takes to support the Con-
stitution. But the law regards the
obligation as inherent and existing prior
to any oath. It is founded on that pro-
lection which government extends over
its citisens." (Walkes's American Law,
Page 1s2) The compact between the
United States and il citiseus, or inhabi-
tanta, 10 that the former shall protect the
latter and they shsll at Ill times be obe-
dent 70 the Constitution aud lsws, and
| faithful to is defence. No state or citi-
ssn he's right to throw OF this obliga-