Evening star., 1901-07-27

speech in reply to Patrick Henry in the
Virginia legislature, in which he declared
civil authority: that its establishment
tends to project uniformity and to penal
laws for supporting 1t; that experience
lishment: that the downfall of states has
happened only where some religion had
been established; that the Introduction OF
Christianity into civil law would be to call
upon the courts to decide what Is Chris
tianity. whether 1t Is trinitarianism. Arian-
ism, Socinianism; whether 1t Is salvation
by faith or by works also; whether any
particular form OF Christianity IL ortho-
dox or heterodox, and. finally, to decide
what Is heresy and to punish heretics; to
revive the old writ de heretico comburendo.
He declared that establishment by law dis
honors Christianity. and that every pane
gyric on Christianity Is an argument
against mingling the claims Of Caesar with
those of God. and concluded with an ap-
peal to support the declaration of rights,
which excluded the possibility Of mfnyltng
such claims In 17S5 Mr.. Henry's bill for
q legal provision for the teachers Of the
Christian religion" again came before the
legislature. In committee Of the whole
1t was determined by a majority OF seven
or eight that the word Christian" should
be exchanged for the word religious"
Madison says: ION the report to the house
the pathetic zeal Of the late Governor Har-
rison gained like majority for reinstat-
Ing discrimination. Should the bill pass
into law In Its present form 1t may and
will be easily eluded. 1t fs chiefly obnox-
ious on account Of its dishonorable princi-
pie and dangerous tendency" This re-
markable language win be found on page
131, volume 1. Of ''The writings OF James
Madison" In the same year Madison
wrote the famous memorial and reinou-
STRANGE. in which he summarized all the
arguments in favor of absolute freedom Of
religious opinions.
Whoever will read the writings Of Madi-
son and Jefferson will be convinced that
the present constitutional convention of
Virginia is treading upon dangerous
ground If Christianity is put into the con-
stitution, what is to become of the Uni
versity of Virginia, which has received
large endowments because of its purely
non-sectarian character?
A Letter to Edward Everett.
In a letter to Edward Everett dated
March 10, 1923, Mr.. Madison discussed this
question of Christianity in education He
said: II am not surprised at the dilemma
produced at your university (Harvard) by
making theological professorships an in
tegral part of the system. The anticipa-
tion of such an one led to the omission In
ours" And again, "A university with Sec
tartan professorships becomes, of course,
sectarian monopoly. With professorships
of rival sects it would be an arena of
theological gladiators. Further on he
says: 1.-THE difficulty of reconciling the
Christian mind to the absence of re-
ligiouS tuition from university establish
ed by law and at the common expense. is
probably less with us than with you. The
settled opinion here is that religion is es-
sentially distinct from civil government
and exempt from it's cognizance; that a
connection between them is injurious to
both that there are causes in the human
breast which insure the perpetuity of re-
Ngion without the aid Of law: that rival
sects, with equal rights, exercise mutual
censorships in favor of good morals; that
If new sects arise with absurd opinions or
overheated imaginations. the proper reme-
dies lie in time, forbearance and example:
that legal establishment of religion with
out toleration could not be thought of, and
with liberation is security for public
quiet and harmony, but rather a source
itself of discord and animosity; and, /
finally, that these opinions are supported
by experience, which has shown that
every relaxation of the alliance between
law and religion, from the partial example
of Holland to its consummation in Penn
sylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, etc, has
been found as safe in practice as it is
sound in theory.
If the sentiments of jefferson and Madi-
son are still prevalent In Virginia, they
are commonly supposed to be, it would
surely be impossible to secure a ratification
Of new constitution which should deviate
from those views on the vital question of
religious freedom, and especially on the
subject of non-sectarian education in the
and common schools Of the
state.