RICHMOND — The Baptist General Association of Virginia's religious liberty committee released a statement this week concerning Virginia's Statute for Religious Freedom. The full text is:
Religious liberty is again under attack. Now it is Virginia's Statute for Religious Freedom. A proposed new statute for religious freedom was printed in the Dec. 18, 2008, Religious Herald that would nullify Thomas Jefferson's great protective law.
The proposed bill, using very fuzzy language, would re-establish religion. Religious establishment is giving the government the power to regulate religious organizations. The proposed wording is: “… The state finds it appropriate to represent the faith of the people by affording them access to public institutions and inviting them to interpret their faith and provide spiritual and moral guidance in determining its laws and actions ….”
The first problem is the use of the word faith. Which religion does the writer have in mind? The existing statute is clear and equitable. It means all religions are free to exercise their beliefs — Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and all the rest.
The second problem is the word people. The implication is that the majority wants the state to enact laws enforcing its faith. Has the author forgotten that the Federal Bill of Rights was adopted to encourage and protect minority religions? During Jefferson's day, it was Baptists who needed the protection from the established Anglican church.
Another question is, “How would the losing religions react to the established one?” Assume that the dominant religious groups had full access to the public schools. Imagine the parents' and students' vocal — or worse — reactions to teaching religious tenets with which they disagree. The bill allows minorities to dissent or abstain. But the concession is merely toleration, not full-fledged religious liberty. We Baptists, of all people should know the difference between the two.
Religious liberty and the separation of church and state are good for both. Contrast Europeans state churches, well-maintained by taxes, but whose congregations are pitifully small, with thriving free American churches.
The present Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom closes with, “ … the rights hereby asserted are of the natural rights of mankind, and that if any act shall hereafter be passed to repeal the present, or to narrow its operation, such act will be an infringement of natural right.” We should not tamper with Mr. Jefferson's great statute. All Virginians, including Baptists, continue to benefit from his handiwork.