(…continued) Europe today has total religious freedom, but very little religious conviction anymore. Muslim nations have strong religious convictions, but very little sense of religious freedom. The First Amendment has helped the United States maintain this delicate balance, but there are dangers now as there always has been.
First of all, there are those who despise religious faith, and want to use the First Amendment to discourage any and all religious expression or influence. We are seeing more and more of that these days. There are many who celebrate any laws or court decisions that lead to increased restriction on the influence of religion in our society. But restricting this positive and necessary influence on our society is something we, as a free nation, must not do. So said the Founding Fathers who created our terrific form of government, this beacon of light to the whole world; as Abraham Lincoln put it, ‘the world’s last, best hope.’
Secondly, there are those, even in the church, who want to say that religion should be kept private, and need not influence one’s life outside the walls of the church, such as in political discussion or decision-making. Both are dangers which must be avoided.
There is much more to be said about all this, but let’s hear a word from George Washington. He talked about his very thing in his Farewell Address in 1796 at the end of his presidency. He said: “Religion and morality are indispensable supports of political prosperity, and no true patriot would oppose them. Where would the security for property, reputation, or life be without the sense of religious obligation? Morality cannot be sustained in a nation without religion.” Similar quotes by other Founding Fathers could fill a huge book. Those men had a wide variety of religious beliefs, but all believed in the importance of the moral foundation that religious faith gives to a nation.
Following the Russian Revolution in 1918, the new Communist government tried an opposite approach. Instead of encouraging religious faith, they set out to eliminate it, establishing an officially atheistic state that restricted and discouraged and even, oftentimes, forbade religious practice and influence. It did not go well. The most important Russian historian of this time was Nobel Prize winner Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Here is what he wrote about his nation in 1995:
More than half a century ago, while I was still a child, I recall what my old grandmother said of the great disasters that had befallen Russia. She said: ‘Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.’ Since then, I have spent 50 years working on the history of our Revolution; reading hundreds of books, collecting hundreds of personal testimonies, and writing eight of my own books trying to understand the tragedy of that upheaval. But if I were asked today to describe the main cause of the terrible Revolution that swallowed up some 60 million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat: ‘Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.’
Os Guinness tells of a speech he gave to Christian businessmen in China, another officially atheistic state. Afterwards, one of the Chinese businessmen had a question. He said: “We see in the United States a country that works, and we want to learn from you. So we have been reading about history and political science and your Founding Fathers, and we have seen how important religion is to your success. But then we see in your newspapers how so many people in your country are trying to get rid of religion. Are we missing something, or what is the matter with those people?”
The Chinese are trying to learn from the success that we take for granted, and they are learning the clear lessons from our history that we have neglected. From what I have read, a student can major in History in most of the colleges in this country, and in four years, not hear one word of any of this. That’s how it is in today’s anti-religious culture. But this is our heritage and what has formed the fabric of our society. If we lose this moral foundation, everything else with unravel, and we will not remain strong or safe.
To say that the Founder Fathers tried to build a government that encouraged virtue in its citizens is certainly not to say our government or citizens have always been virtuous. No government action can guarantee virtue, but the goal is to enhance and encourage it. The Founding Fathers were well aware of the sin in every person, and worked to establish a government that provided checks and balances to restrict the sinful ambitions of those who ruled– but that is another story. One can argue about how well that has worked. But what cannot be argued or denied is that people from all over the world dream of coming here; and very few dream of leaving here, even among those most critical of what this nation stands for. (continued…)
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Almighty God, you have given us this good land as our heritage. Make us always remember your generosity and constantly do your will. Bless our land with honest industry, truthful education, and an honorable way of life. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil course of action. Make us who came from many nations with many different languages a united people. Defend our liberties and give those whom we have entrusted with the authority of government the spirit of wisdom, that there might be justice and peace in our land. When times are prosperous, let our hearts be thankful; and, troubled times, do not let our trust in you fail. We ask all this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship, Augsburg Publishing House, 1978, (#169).
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