The Evangelical Underground has a nice short post on separation of church and state called Shall Make No LAW. Nice reminder of the obtuseness of our current anti-religious fervor.
The government can make no LAW establishing a religion. Which is why in 1782, while our founding fathers were still alive and kicking, Congress authorized and financed the printing and distribution of the Aitkens Bible for use in schools and soldiers at war.
If the liberal reasoning about the founding father’s intent is to be believed, we should have documented protests about this landmark action, shouldn’t we?
Of course we don’t because while the seperation of church and state was a real thing, it was still approached with a certain amount of rationale and saneness.
The separation of Church and State…
An interesting contrast, "A Bible and a newspaper in every house, a good school in every district-all studied and appreciated as they merit-are the principal support of virtue, morality, and civil liberty."
–Benjamin Franklin as cited in: (America'…
1782 being five years prior to the creation of the Constitution with its separation of church and state, and seven years prior to the creation of the First Amendment — it's an example that is contradicted by the later actions of the founders.
Are you sure the year was 1782? That would be after the surrender of Cornwallis, and consequently there were no soldiers technically at war — earlier the pre-U.S. Continental Congress had included such a budgetary request in order to get Bibles for soldiers because importation from England was not feasible during the war.
Helping Americans exercise their religion is not an establishment. That may be too fine a distinction for those who wish to impose Christianity on others, but that is the law.
Yep, seems correct. From here
Otherwise known as the Bible of the Revolution, the first Bible in English to be printed in America was issued to fill a need created by war, since no Bibles were being imported. In 1781 Aitkens petitioned Congress for endorsement and financial aid to issue this Bible.
On September 10, 1782, a resolution was passed – "The United States in Congress assembled highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitkens . . . they recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States…" George Washington wrote a friend, "It would have pleased me well, if Congress had been pleased to make such an important present (a copy of this Bible) to the brave fellows, who have done so much for the security of their Country's rights and establishment." Only 32 complete copies are known to be extent
Even if correct in the year, it's contradicted by the later actions of the founders. They evidently learned a lot between 1782 and 1787. Separation of church and state was, therefore, woven throughout the Constitution.
Printing Bibles is exactly the sort of thing the founders would have objected to, and often did. That's why they wrote into law that the government can't do that sort of thing.
Guess I'll have to do some more digging to find examples of what the founders did and did not mean by the establishment clause.