James Madison

James Madison (image), a founding father of the US, introducer of the Constitution's Bill of Rights, and 4th President of the United States, wrote on July 10, 1822 in a letter to Edward Livingston, "Every new & successful example of a perfect separation between ecclesiastical and civil matters is of importance."

Madison also later wrote this, concerning the establishment of a Chaplaincy in Congress, in his essay prepared for publication, Monopolies, Perpetuities, Corporations, Ecclesiastical Endowments:

Is the appointment of Chaplains to the two Houses of Congress consistent with the Constitution, and with the pure principle of religious freedom? In strictness the answer on both points must be in the negative. The Constitution of the U S forbids everything like an establishment of a national religion. The law appointing Chaplains establishes a religious worship for the national representatives, to be performed by Ministers of religion, elected by a majority of them, and these are to be paid out of the national taxes. Does this not involve the principle of a national establishment...? (footnote)

Prayer is not appropriate as part of the official proceeding of secular, civic matters in a diverse nation comprised of millions with no faith and millions who believe the tales of competing faiths.

Chris Rodda's highly informative examination of Madison's objections to the Chaplaincy can be read on Talk To Action.

(Footnote: quotation from Madison quotations on the Positive Atheism website as citing Brant, Irving, The Bill of Rights, 1965, from Albert J Menendez and Edd Doerr, The Great Quotations on Religious Freedom.)

Comments

[Cliff Walker]

Here's a heads-up for you:

The book, *The Great Quotations on Religious Freedom,* edited by Albert J Menendez and Edd Doerr, was nearly impossible to find when we typed out and posted numerous quips from it in our *Big List of Quotations* over ten years ago.

Thankfully, the book has recently been reprinted by Prometheus.

Cliff Walker,
Positive Atheism