Even so, there is a prohibition on the establishment of a sectarian faith. And although the Founders certainly knew that the laws would reflect the spiritual beliefs of those adopting them – for what are laws but the codification of moral precepts? – there’s nothing to suggest that they intended any federal legislation to enforce a particular “religious law.” In fact, like most religious conservatives today, the Founding Fathers understood that the “inalienable” rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence included the right to freedom of conscience – so that every individual could worship (or not) as he thinks right.
By appealing to religious prejudice, singling out Christians as the only lawmakers who won’t “legislate sin” and insisting that America was not founded as a “nation of secular laws,” Rep. Harris distorts the true meaning of both the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. In doing so, she misrepresents the enduring principles that have allowed America to remain a religious country, without being a theocratic one.
Ultimately, Katherine Harris has not only hurt her own political cause – she’s handed another weapon to those who seek to rouse public suspicion against believers and eliminate every religious influence from public life.
Carol Platt Liebau
Carol Platt Liebau is an attorney, political commentator and guest radio talk show host based near New York. Learn more about her new book, "Prude: How the Sex-Obsessed Culture Hurts Young Women (and America, Too!)"
here.