American flags on church property
Just when you think that there are no new ways to force the seperation-of-church-and-state concept down the throats of the American people, along comes a new one. This time it’s the "take all the American flags off church property" trick.
I don’t know where the notion that all things religious must not mix in any way with all things political came from, but I do know that it didn’t come from the Constitution. The portion of the First Amendment that deals with this subject is this: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…" These simple words carry a very simple message - that the U.S. government can’t create a state religion and that it can’t tell you who or how to worship if you so desire. The founders of this country wanted to make sure we didn’t create a state sponsored religion as they had in England. Or, in other words, there could be no coercion on the part of the government in regards to religion.
In the Seattle Post-Intelligencer today, Joel Connelly makes a case for removing American flags from churches. The inspiration for Connelly’s piece was apparently the Fourth of July remarks made by Rev. Sandy Brown, executive director of the Church Council of Greater Seattle. "After all these years of secrecy, I’m now ready to make a confession: I am a serial flag remover. I’ve removed the American flag not just from one church I served as pastor, but from all three," wrote Brown.
Starting from that, Mr. Connelly goes on to make his case for removing American flags from church property. He uses the following quote from Thomas Jefferson to bolster his case, "Almighty God hath created the mind free. All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burdens are a departure from the Holy Author of our religion. No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain their opinion in manners of religion."
What, do you suppose, does Connelly think Thomas Jefferson is saying here that supports the idea of removing American flags from churches? I would argue that this statement tends to support the notion that if a religious congregation chooses to display American flags on church property, they are free to do so without interference from the state.