Happy Birthday James Madison!

Today is the birthday of James Madison (March 16, 1751), the fourth President of the United States. (Little known fact, we named our second daughter after James Madison). Madison is kind of a forgotten guy in American history even though his impact on much of our nation’s identity was enormous. Madison had such an influence over the drafting of the U.S. Constitution that he is nicknamed “The Father of the Constitution” and his influence is not merely over the actual drafting of the Constitution but also in the underlying theory and philosophy of our system of government. His work “The Federalist Papers”, co-authored along with John Jay and Alexander Hamilton, is one of the most important formative documents of our nation and is chock full of wisdom. One of my favorite lines is from the Federalist #51 “But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.”. Much as I dislike and distrust government, I also recognize that we are sinful men being governed by sinful men and as such some restrictions and laws are necessary. We can and should debate the scope and nature of the power of the government to rule the people and vice versa, but what is apparent from human nature is that radical libertarianism taken to its logical extreme is untenable in a society that dwells in a post-Genesis 3 world. The Constitution is designed to pit “ambition against ambition”, using mankind’s natural sinful self-interest to prevent the government from concentrating excessive power in any branch of the government. This “separation of powers” and system of “checks and balances” has worked well for most of our history, but as courts become more and more boldly activist, wantonly enacting de facto legislation from the bench, the efficacy of our system is teetering on the brink.

One area that perhaps more than others is a hallmark of Madison’s influence on our government is in the area of religious liberty (See: Why I'm Celebrating Madison's Birthday). Religious liberty is at its core a simple concept, i.e. people should be able to worship or not as they see fit without governmental restriction or approbation. Unfortunately the emotionally charged nature of religious expression has made it fodder for all manner of foolishness.

The idea of the separation of church and state, although not specifically appearing anywhere in the Constitution, has been taken to an ugly and unintended extreme by some to mean that any religious expression in the public square is of necessity a violation of the Constitution. The idea of freedom of religion has been perverted to mean a freedom from religion. The idea that we should not permit prayer before Inaugurations, or that the Ten Commandments should be removed from public soil when they are inarguably one of the foundational documents upon which our system of laws and governance is founded are ludicrous on their face and a demonstration of political ideology run amok at the expense of history and truth.

In an equally erroneous overreaction, some have called for an integration of religion into the public square that is also unwarranted and unwise. While I understand President Bush’s call for an Office of Faith Based Initiatives and think it was well-meaning, it ultimately was a bad idea. Even worse is the call for a return to school prayer. I really don’t think we need to link in our kids minds the school, government and prayer. I don’t believe that a child who wished to pray silently to themselves is going to be prevented from doing so, and I really don’t think parents want a Christian/Mormon/Buddhist/Muslim/atheist teacher leading kids in prayer. If you want your kids to pray during the day, keep them home, teach them yourself and lead them in prayer yourself.

It is in the middle of this issue that we discover where the intent was aimed and where the greatest good is found. I have no interest in state sponsored religion, or even a church and state partnership. That is one of the reasons I am concerned with the favorable tax treatments granted to churches and employees of religious organizations. While it seems innocent enough now, I can see it being a wedge issue and a stick to be used later on. Can the days when those tax exemptions are held hostage for concessions from religious organizations be far off? Look at the way the society is headed with an ever increasing dependence on government and tell me I am wrong. I also have no tolerance for those who would expunge religious expression in the public square. The Constitution guarantees the freedom of religious expression, free from compulsion on the one hand and repression from the government on the other. As Americans who enjoy the freedom to worship as we choose or not to worship at all, we owe a debt of gratitude to President Madison for his foresight on this issue.

Happy Birthday!