"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
It seems clear to me that this election, and the debates among Democrats on how to approach the evangelical portion of the electorate, offer a profound lesson: We have forgotten, even perverted, the roots of our great democracy.
Let me be clear: The word "God" is not used once in the entire Constitution and its Amendments. This country was founded as a secular republic. While the Founders were themselves men of faith, they well understood that matters of faith are divisive, contentious, and inherently destructive to liberty and unity. We have forgotten this when we talk about mixing religion with politics.
I do not wish to ratify the mistaken belief of the faithful that this is a "Christian" nation. It is not. It is a nation with a majority of people who profess faith in various denominations and sects of Christianity. It is also a nation of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Animists, Agnostics, Atheists.
I believe that the majority of people in this country do not understand the danger of their own misconceptions about the nature of our democracy.
This is not a classical democracy in which the majority rules. It is a constitutional democracy. We have laws that supersede simple majority rules. And those laws, more than anything, protect the minority from the passions of the majority.
The First Amendment protects me from Christians deciding that everyone must be Christian. Likewise, it protects Catholic Christians from Evangelical Christians. It protects Evangelical Christians from the assaults of other Protestant denominations.
Should the proselytizing Evangelicals succeed in neutering the First Amendment, there will be no protection for us now, and for them in the future. As far as I'm concerned, that is the only argument that is honest.
I use the word "honest" because if Democrats think they can suddenly turn on the God-talk, speak in evangelical code, and be believed, they are sadly mistaken.
I do not wish to appeal to the prejudices of evangelicals or any other religious faction, including Catholics, AIPAC, or whatever.
Instead, we have to exalt and revere the First Amendment. No one is taking bibles away. No one is forcing someone's son into gay marriage. Your religion and your right to exercise it is perfectly and totally respected. However, in this country, your right to exercise your religion stops at my door, and vice versa. Our right to exercise religion stops at the door of government. Our government is formed by the laws of man. You may wish to obey a higher law in your own homes, but if you try to strip others of the protections of man's laws, you will eventually find yourselves defenseless as well.
There is no compromise to be found in this fight, as there is no compromise in the positions informed by religious faith.
As for me, my faith in the Constitution, and the First Amendment in particular, is full, complete and unwavering.