What History Says to Us

Sorry it's been a while since I posted anything. I've been busy. I'll try to make shorter, more frequent posts this year. We shall see.

I've been reading "A History of the Church of England" by John Moorman. I knew the basics about how the church of England came to be, but was not really aware of all that transpired up to and particularly afterwards. I did not realize the vast swings that the English Church went through as the leadership of England changed. It would go from Catholic to Anglican to Presbyterian to Puritan and back each time there was a new monarch or parliament, often accompanied by purges of the previous adherents. This was a disaster for the church.

What I'm getting from this book is a better understanding of the history behind our Constitution. It is clear to me that the founding fathers were very concerned about the impact on the church (e.g., religion) when the government directed a state church. I believe they were trying to ensure the independence of the church from government interference, not remove the public expression of religion even by members of government. SCOTUS and much of the rest of our judiciary needs to relearn this lesson.