A Reflection on Faith and Freedom

 As Christmas filled our homes with family, light, and warmth during the frigid weather, the new year is absolutely a good time to reflect on the holiday's deeper meanings -- and what it teaches us about faith, freedom, and our shared history. Here in Jackson County, where religion runs rather deep, this season offers a moment to consider how those values align -- or fail to -- with the Constitution and the principles of our Founding Fathers.

Since the Ten Commandments were removed from Jackson County schools in September, they have not returned, despite some minor protests on Facebook and no small amount of rhetoric from podcasters and commentators. Across the district, the Constitution has mostly prevailed. However, McKee Elementary recently crossed the line with an overtly religious Christmas program ...and a refusal to remove the commandments -- despite the school board's own admission of their unconstitutionality. This reminds us that vigilance is absolutely essential to ensuring public institutions serve all, equally.

This resistance to, or outright defiance of religious neutrality is especially puzzling during a season that celebrates humility, grace, and unyielding love for one's neighbor. A local podcaster who decried my role in the commandments' removal as "infiltration", calling me "public enemy #1" admitted on his own show, that he doesn't know the commandments himself, and sidestepped offers from others to edify him. His rhetoric ignores Christ's teaching to "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's" and His warnings about hypocrites who practice faith simply to be seen by others. Worse, he often laughingly passes judgment on others while seemingly ignoring the "logs in his own eye" -- logs numerous enough, it seems, to reconstruct Babel. 

Another local op-ed columnist took the position that it's just a matter of time before a religiously motivated Supreme Court overturns Stone v. Graham (1980). This "train has left the station," (as he put it) argument, unremarkably, is neither an operable legal principle, nor justification for ignoring constitutional law. Even if the court were to undo the separation of church and state, it would do so in defiance of the Founders' rather explicit intent.

The Founders, despite their personal beliefs, and an overwhelming Christian majority, did not codify the Ten Commandments, they sure could have, but they deliberately did not. As the Treaty of Tripoli -- unanimously ratified by Congress and signed by President John Adams (a founder) -- states, "The government of the United States is not in any sense founded upon the Christian religion." 

Our original motto, E Pluribus Unum -- "Out of Many, One" -- captures the vision of unity that defined our early republic. References to God in the Pledge of Allegiance and on currency came much later, during the Cold War. These changes reflect a specific historical moment, not the Founders' vision of a secular republic that protects all beliefs equally. 

This New Year, I urge Jackson County's religious community to reflect on the lessons of history and scripture. Our ancestors fled religious oppression imposed by government, our educators, more than all of our other officials, ought to know that. They understood the dangers of mingling faith and government influence. And Christ himself warned against practicing faith to be seen by others, a lesson that resonates now more than ever. 

Faith, when sincere, doesn't need government endorsement. It flourishes best when it is personal, and free. The Constitution safeguards that freedom, ensuring no belief is imposed on another. As we celebrate this season, let us remember what unites us: family, community, and hope for a brighter tomorrow. These principles are not an attack on faith; they are its greatest protection. 

I hope it was a Merry Christmas, and have happy New Year, Jackson County. May the new year inspire us to be better neighbors, citizens, and stewards of the constitutional protections and freedoms we all share.