Zachary Garris@ZacharyGarris
Two essential facts to know before expressing an opinion on American church-state relations or the CN debate:
(1) The 1st Amendment (1791) only prohibited a federally established church. This is evident by the language ("Congress shall make..."), as well as the practice of state churches at the time. The 1st Amendment was not applied to the states (see Barron v. Baltimore), not even after the 1868 14th Amendment (see Slaughter-House Cases). The Supreme Court first applied the 1st Amendment to the states in 1947 (Everson v. Board), a ruling that misused Jefferson & Madison. This is part of the "Incorporation Doctrine," which was destroyed by Raoul Berger in Government by Judiciary.
(2) The American version of the Westminster Confession of Faith & Catechisms (1788) does not teach a secular or religiously-neutral civil government. It did move away from the 1646 view of church-state relations (e.g., removing "that all blasphemies and heresies be suppressed"). However, the American version says civil magistrates are to "maintain piety" (WCF 23.2) and as "nursing fathers" have the duty "to protect the church of our common Lord" (WCF 23.3). The Westminster Larger Catechism still says the church is "countenanced and maintained by the civil magistrate" (WLC 191). The American Standards even support Sabbath laws, as (1) "Superiors"—including those of the "commonwealth" (WLC 124)—have the duty "to see that" the Sabbath "be observed by all those that are under their charge" (WLC 118); and (2) Blotting the Sabbath's "memory" brings "in all irreligion & impiety" (WLC 121), and magistrates are to "maintain piety (WCF 23) and as "superiors" are to "instruct" & "protect... all things necessary for soul & body" (WLC 129).
