PREFACE. This little work is a contribution to American Church History, and to the Centennial Celebration of our National Constitution. It discusses that part of the Constitution which protects us against the despotism of a state church, and guarantees to us the free exercise and enjoyment of religion, as an inherent, inviolable, and inalienable right of every man. The First Amendment is the Magna Charta of that freedom, and well worthy to be set forth in its true light with its antecedents, surroundings, and effects at home and abroad. This I have endeavored to do, for the first time, from the stand-point of a church historian and theologian. American Church History has yet to be written. We are so busy making history that we have little time to study and to write history. But monographs on sectional and local topics are multiplying fast, and already present a formidable mass of material for a comprehensive view of the whole field. There is scarcely a more inviting task for a rising American historian than to exhibit from the broad platform of truth and justice, in life-like reproduction, the genesis and growth of American Christianity in its connections with the mother Christianity of Europe, its distinctive peculiarities, and its great mission for the future. Union Theological Seminary, New York, Nov. 24, 1887. THE AUTHOR. CONTENTS. PREFACE INTRODUCTION II. THE AMERICAN SYSTEM COMPARED WITH OTHER SYSTEMS XII.-RESULTS OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM Official Documents and Standard Opinions on Religious II.-DECISION OF THE U. S. SUPREME COURT ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY 119 III.-DR. FRANKLIN'S SPEECH IN SUPPORT OF PRAYERS IN THE CON- V.-JUDGE STORY'S OPINION ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN THE U. S. CHRISTIANITY A Part of the ComMON LAW OF PENNSYLVANIA. X.-CHRISTIANITY A PART of the ComMON LAW OF NEW YORK CHURCH AND STATE IN THE UNITED STATES. What is the distinctive character of American Christianity in its organized social aspect and its relation to the national life, as compared with the Christianity of Europe? It is a FREE CHURCH IN A FREE STATE, or a SELF-SUPPORTING AND SELF-GOVERNING CHRISTIANITY IN INDEPENDENT BUT FRIENDLY RELATION TO THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT. This relationship of church and state marks an epoch. It is a new chapter in the history of Christianity, and the most important one which America has so far contributed. It lies at the base of our religious institutions and operations, and they cannot be understood without it. And yet, strange to say, it has never received the treatment it deserves, either from the historical or the philosophical point of view, although it is often incidentally mentioned, especially in discussions of religion in the public schools. It seems to be regarded as a self-evident fact and truth which need no explanation and defence. I know of no ecclesiastical or secular history, or special treatise, which gives a satisfactory account of it; and the works on the Constitution of the United States touch only on the legal aspect of the religious clauses, or pass them by altogether. THE AMERICAN THEORY. The relationship of church and state in the United States secures full liberty of religious thought, speech, and action, within the limits of the public peace and order. It makes persecution impossible. Religion and liberty are inseparable. Religion is voluntary, and cannot, and ought not to be forced. 9 |