I am writing in response to Blake Hasenmiller’s article discussing Easter and the separation of church and state [“‘Freedom of,’ not ‘freedom from,’ religion,” Jan. 22]. There seems to be some confusion about what the Constitution actually says about religion.

The First Amendment, along with the entire Bill of Rights, was created as a limitation only on the powers of the federal government, not the powers of the states. It was meant to make sure the federal government did not interfere with state and local policies regarding religion.

During the ratification debates, leading Federalists — proponents of the new Constitution — reassured people that the new federal government only had the powers “expressly delegated” to it in the Constitution. They explained that it would be ridiculous to add protections against things that Congress was not even empowered to violate. Nonetheless, people still insisted on an amendment to make sure the new federal government did not make any law establishing a national church or disestablishing a state church. This was not surprising, considering several states — Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts — had state churches at the time. States with policies of religious freedom did not want their institutions interfered with either.

During the First Congress, James Madison proposed an amendment that limited state and local authority on religion. It was rejected. Why? People insisted on state and local control on this issue.

Years later, in 1875, James Blaine proposed an amendment in Congress that limited state and local authority on religion. Like Madison’s proposal, it was rejected. Why? Again, people did not want any branch of the federal government interfering with state policies on religion. They wanted this issue left entirely with the states.

So did the people finally consent to a national “separation of church and state” requirement? They did not. It came from a 1947 Supreme Court opinion by Justice Hugo Black, a noted Klansman. The KKK, with its anti-Catholic ideology, required its members to swear an oath supporting the idea of church/state separation. Justice Black, possibly influenced by his Klan tendencies, used ahistorical assertions combined with a specious interpretation of the 14th Amendment’s due process clause to enforce his idea upon the states — an idea repeatedly rejected by the people’s representatives.

We live under this Klansman’s unconstitutional opinion to this day.

Brian Clark

Senior

Political science