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nAnniversary of an Awful Law – 1647
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n“Younguys can’t be here,” the Massachusetts lawmakers said to Jesuitn(Catholic) priests on this date in 1647. “So leave. And if you comenback, we’re going to kill you!”
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Ofncourse, the new Massachusetts law didn’t say those exact words (andnalso featured ye olde fashioned spellings), but that was the gistnof the law. We in the United States have enjoyed freedom of religionnfor so long that we sometimes forget why our nation’s founders wrotenthe First Amendment in the first place. But before our U.S. Constitution, the norm was for each government to dictate thenreligion of that nation. If you weren’t the “right” religion, younwere considered a sinner, religiously speaking, but you were often considered a second-class citizen, too. Or you were killednor ejected, beat up or rejected.
Ofncourse, the new Massachusetts law didn’t say those exact words (andnalso featured ye olde fashioned spellings), but that was the gistnof the law. We in the United States have enjoyed freedom of religionnfor so long that we sometimes forget why our nation’s founders wrotenthe First Amendment in the first place. But before our U.S. Constitution, the norm was for each government to dictate thenreligion of that nation. If you weren’t the “right” religion, younwere considered a sinner, religiously speaking, but you were often considered a second-class citizen, too. Or you were killednor ejected, beat up or rejected.n
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nSontoday is a very good day to be thankful for the separation ofnchurch and state. The U.S. Constitution states that the governmentncannot establish a national religion, cannot institute a religiousntest before granting citizenship or voting rights, and cannot shownpreference for one religion over another.
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nAndnthat’s a very, very good thing. Just ask those priests!
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nLearnnmore…
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nHerenis a rather advanced treatment or “lesson” on freedom of religion, meantnfor high school age or older.n And here is a quiz on the same subject, again for advanced or oldernstudents.
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nTeaching Tolerance has some good discussion questions.
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nAlsonon this date:
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nSorry Day in Australia
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nAstronaut Sally Ride’s birthday
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