Catholic involvement in the founding of our nation

As we begin to celebrate the 250^th Anniversary of our nation’s founding, I wanted to know more about Catholic involvement. And I wanted to understand the intentions of our Founding Fathers on the fraught topic of separation of Church and State.

Most Americans consider the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, to be the birthdate of our Nation. The first skirmishes of an insurrection that began in 1775 at the Battles of Lexington and Concord, soon became a full-fledged revolution, The American Revolution. By the time it was over, the Thirteen Colonies had not only declared their independence from England, but formed a new nation, the United States of America.

What was Catholic involvement in the Declaration of Independence? Of the 56 men who signed this all-important document, only one was a Catholic, Charles Carroll from Maryland.

I have to admit it has been a long time since I’ve read the Declaration of Independence. I almost didn’t include a link to it in this post. However, in rereading it I was taken aback by how timely it seems. A good deal of it is concerned with listing grievances against the British King, George III, whom the signers did not hesitate to name a tyrant.

As I read the grievances (and I wholeheartedly recommend you read the document) I am uncomfortably aware how some of the events and circumstances denounced by our Founding Fathers resonate with current events. Tyranny – at any time – must be resoundingly checked and rejected – whatever Faith you may follow!

In Philadelphia, from May to December of 1787, representatives from every state except Rhode Island met to write a constitution for the new nation. Again, Catholic presence was limited. Only two of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were Catholics – Daniel Carroll from Maryland and Thomas FitzSimons from Pennsylvania.

The Constitution, originally composed of a preamble and seven articles, provides a framework for our government. As I reread it, I was again reminded of it’s importance. Article 1, which makes up fully half of the document, is taken up with the responsibilities and duties of those who serve in the House of Representatives and the Senate. I take that as an indication of the importance the Founders placed on our representative form of government.

The section of the Constitution devoted to the office of the President is only a third as long, and that devoted to the Supreme Court is shorter still. The Founders of our nation clearly intended to form a representative government accountable only to the people who elect them.

Considering all the debate we are currently undergoing regarding what is in The US Constitution, it should be known to every American. It is not a long document and will only take you a few minutes to read. As an American Catholic you should know what is in there and what is not.

Back to the idea of separation of Church and State. Surprise! There is nothing about religious freedom in either the Declaration of Independence or the US Constitution.

That issue is covered in another key American document – The Bill of Rights – which makes up the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. Again, an extremely short document that is a must-read for any American Catholic.

Ratified by the states by 1791, The Bill of Rights protects key freedoms for American citizens and limits the power of the Federal Government. I emphasize that phrase because of late I have noticed that some of these cherished freedoms – of religion, of speech – clearly meant for individuals, have been bestowed upon corporations and institutions, including at times, churches. In my humble opinion, that is not what the Founders intended. The First Amendment that Americans hold so dear protects individual rights and not corporate and institutional rights – even the rights of the Catholic Church. That’s all I’m going to say here about this fraught topic.

So, what does the Bill of Rights have to say about religious freedom? Since it is covered in the first part of the First Amendment, I have to believe that it was very important to our Founders. Here it is:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Short and sweet! Legal experts break this down into two clauses – the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. The Establishment Clause prohibits the government from “establishing” a religion. The Free Exercise Clause protects citizens’ rights to practice their religion as they see fit, or choose not to practice any religion at all.

Why would our Founding Fathers have placed such importance on religious freedom?

It’s not that they were against religion. Many were believers.

The Founders in their wisdom saw the danger in the mixing of politics and religion. As educated men, they had studied the destruction caused by religious wars and persecutions in Europe and how that led to oppression and tyranny.

James Madison, the primary author of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, used the phrase “torrents of blood” to describe the result of intermixing religion and power “in the old world.” And although the words “separation of Church and State” are not in any of our foundational documents, they described our Founding Father’s understanding of the First Amendment religious freedom at the time it was written. Thomas Jefferson coined that phrase in a letter to a group of Baptists in Danbury, CT, in 1802. In that letter he lauded the First Amendment for “building a wall of separation between Church & State.”

But what about our national motto - “In God we trust” – which appears prominently on our currency and in our national lexicon? That phrase didn’t exist until the 1950s. On July 30, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation declaring it our country’s official motto.

Likewise, the Pledge of Allegiance which I remember standing and repeating facing the flag in my classroom every morning in (Catholic) school. As originally written, it did not include the words “under God.” That was added in 1954, again, under Eisenhower.

So, what was going on in the 1950s? The US was locked in a struggle at that time with “godless” communists in the Soviet Union. By explicitly mentioning God in these contexts, Congress and the President were attempting to assert the “godliness” of our nation in contrast.

Freedom to practice religion according to your conscience, and freedom from having any religion favored or forced upon you, are bedrock American rights. Tolerance and respect for others protects all of us.

Catholics have been subject to discrimination in the past when they have lacked numbers, or status or power. Now we have all three - numbers (close to 50% of Americans have a personal or family connection to Catholicism); status - (Trump’s VP JD Vance and more than 1/3 of his Cabinet are Catholic, including Marco Rubio, Sean Duffy, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr); and power - (six of nine justices on the Supreme Court are Catholic) - it behooves us to practice humility along with our Faith.