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===B.  The Establishment Clause.===

===B.  The Establishment Clause.===

The [[First Amendment]] begins with: “[[Congress]] shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion ....”  Known as the “Establishment Clause,” this is increasingly used against state and local government.  In 1962, this clause was the basis for the [[Supreme Court]] to ban prayer in the schools (Engel v. Vitale).  It is the basis for the recent ban on the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, and the order to remove the [[Ten Commandments]] plaque from the Alabama Supreme Court.

The [[First Amendment]] begins with: “[[Congress]] shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion ....”  Known as the “[[Establishment Clause]],” this is increasingly used against state and local government.  In 1962, this clause was the basis for the [[Supreme Court]] to ban prayer in the schools (Engel v. Vitale).  It is the basis for the recent ban on the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, and the order to remove the [[Ten Commandments]] plaque from the Alabama Supreme Court.

The Establishment Clause is rooted in [[Thomas Jefferson]]’s [[Virginia]] Statute for Religious Freedom of 1786.  Its purpose was to prevent an elite class of clergy, funded by government.  “The law for religious freedom, which made a part of this system, having put down the aristocracy of the clergy, ... restored to the citizen the freedom of the mind, and those of entails and descents nurturing an equality of condition among them.”  Letter by Jefferson to Adams, Monticello (Oct. 28, 1813).

The [[Establishment Clause]] is rooted in [[Thomas Jefferson]]’s [[Virginia]] Statute for Religious Freedom of 1786.  Its purpose was to prevent an elite class of clergy, funded by government.  “The law for religious freedom, which made a part of this system, having put down the aristocracy of the clergy, ... restored to the citizen the freedom of the mind, and those of entails and descents nurturing an equality of condition among them.”  Letter by Jefferson to Adams, Monticello (Oct. 28, 1813).

Neither Jefferson nor [[James Madison]] wanted an aristocratic clergy like in [[England]].  They opposed [[American]] imitation of the [[Church of England]].

Neither Jefferson nor [[James Madison]] wanted an aristocratic clergy like in [[England]].  They opposed [[American]] imitation of the [[Church of England]].

Jefferson and [[Madison]] were hostile to nobility and primogeniture (the English rule that gave all inheritance to the oldest son).  The [[Constitution]] bans titles of nobility, as does the Articles of Confederation.  Jefferson worked to abolish English rules of inheritance from [[Virginia]] law.

Jefferson and [[Madison]] were hostile to nobility and primogeniture (the English rule that gave all inheritance to the oldest son).  The [[Constitution]] bans titles of nobility, as does the Articles of Confederation.  Jefferson worked to abolish English rules of inheritance from [[Virginia]] law.

Note that the Establishment Clause applied only to [[Congress]].  Read it again.  “[[Congress]] shall make no law ....”

Note that the [[Establishment Clause]] applied only to [[Congress]].  Read it again.  “[[Congress]] shall make no law ....”

After the [[Civil War]], some in [[Congress]] sought to extend the Establishment Clause against the states.  That would have been pointless if it already applied against the states. The proposals substituted “state” for “[[Congress]]” in copying from the [[First Amendment]]: “No state shall make any law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ....”  H.R. Res. I, 44th Cong., 1st Sess. (1875) (emphasis added). But the proposed amendment never passed.  

After the [[Civil War]], some in [[Congress]] sought to extend the [[Establishment Clause]] against the states.  That would have been pointless if it already applied against the states. The proposals substituted “state” for “[[Congress]]” in copying from the [[First Amendment]]: “No state shall make any law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ....”  H.R. Res. I, 44th Cong., 1st Sess. (1875) (emphasis added). But the proposed amendment never passed.  

Eventually, someone hostile to religion in public life rose to power on the [[Supreme Court]].  Justice [[Hugo Black]], a former member of the [[Ku Klux Klan]], pushed the court to ostracize religion from schools and government.  He wrote the opinion banning prayer from public schools, and other opinions ostracizing religion. Since then courts have banned the [[Ten Commandments]] and now even the [[Pledge of Allegiance]].

Eventually, someone hostile to religion in public life rose to power on the [[Supreme Court]].  Justice [[Hugo Black]], a former member of the [[Ku Klux Klan]], pushed the court to ostracize religion from schools and government.  He wrote the opinion banning prayer from public schools, and other opinions ostracizing religion. Since then courts have banned the [[Ten Commandments]] and now even the [[Pledge of Allegiance]].