10 Sep 2025 4:04 am
With regard to the separation of church and state, although it's widely believed, as mentioned in a previous post by Johnny You, that the early "Christians came here for [Separation of Church and State] in the first place", they didn't have the current secular concept of 'separation'. From the Wiki article on the Puritans: [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puritans ]:
"Many Independents, did not support a compulsory national church but believed that civil government should enforce godly discipline by upholding the moral teachings of Scripture. This included the Puritan settlers in the New England Colonies between 1620 and 1640 , who established colony-supported churches and governments that closely intertwined civil law with religious practice, and the right to vote linked to church membership [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puritans]
New England, where Congregationalism was the official religion, the Puritans exhibited intolerance of other religious beliefs, including Quaker, Anglican, and Baptist theologies. The Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony were the most active of the New England persecutors of Quakers, and the persecuting spirit was shared by the Plymouth Colony and the colonies along the Connecticut river.
Four Quakers, known as the Boston martyrs, were executed. The first two of the four Boston martyrs were executed by the Puritans on 27 October 1659, and in memory of this, 27 October is now International Religious Freedom Day, to recognize the importance of freedom of religion.[ In 1660, one of the most notable victims of the religious intolerance was the English Quaker Mary Dyer, who was hanged in Boston for repeatedly defying a Puritan law which banned Quakers from the colony. The hanging of Dyer on Boston Common marked the beginning of the end of the Puritan theocracy. In 1661, King Charles II explicitly forbade Massachusetts from executing anyone for professing Quakerism. In 1684, England revoked the Massachusetts charter, and in 1686, they sent over a royal governor to enforce English laws, and in 1689, they passed a broad Toleration Act. "
Genuine freedom of religion is like freedom of speech. Almost everyone is for it for themselves, but not so much when it's exercised by their political (or religious) opponents. Today it's the Left who are most vigorous in trying to suppress the free speech of their enemies, but in the past it's been the Right. (It depends on who's in power. Today the Left has nearly completed its "long march through the institutions" -- certainly through the educational and cultural institutions -- so of course it wants to use its power to suppress the Right.)
When Western Civilization collapses/is transformed into something very different, the concept of 'freedom of thought', which implies forbidding the state to enforce religious or ideological conformity on the population, will probably vanish as well.
"Many Independents, did not support a compulsory national church but believed that civil government should enforce godly discipline by upholding the moral teachings of Scripture. This included the Puritan settlers in the New England Colonies between 1620 and 1640 , who established colony-supported churches and governments that closely intertwined civil law with religious practice, and the right to vote linked to church membership [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puritans]
New England, where Congregationalism was the official religion, the Puritans exhibited intolerance of other religious beliefs, including Quaker, Anglican, and Baptist theologies. The Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony were the most active of the New England persecutors of Quakers, and the persecuting spirit was shared by the Plymouth Colony and the colonies along the Connecticut river.
Four Quakers, known as the Boston martyrs, were executed. The first two of the four Boston martyrs were executed by the Puritans on 27 October 1659, and in memory of this, 27 October is now International Religious Freedom Day, to recognize the importance of freedom of religion.[ In 1660, one of the most notable victims of the religious intolerance was the English Quaker Mary Dyer, who was hanged in Boston for repeatedly defying a Puritan law which banned Quakers from the colony. The hanging of Dyer on Boston Common marked the beginning of the end of the Puritan theocracy. In 1661, King Charles II explicitly forbade Massachusetts from executing anyone for professing Quakerism. In 1684, England revoked the Massachusetts charter, and in 1686, they sent over a royal governor to enforce English laws, and in 1689, they passed a broad Toleration Act. "
Genuine freedom of religion is like freedom of speech. Almost everyone is for it for themselves, but not so much when it's exercised by their political (or religious) opponents. Today it's the Left who are most vigorous in trying to suppress the free speech of their enemies, but in the past it's been the Right. (It depends on who's in power. Today the Left has nearly completed its "long march through the institutions" -- certainly through the educational and cultural institutions -- so of course it wants to use its power to suppress the Right.)
When Western Civilization collapses/is transformed into something very different, the concept of 'freedom of thought', which implies forbidding the state to enforce religious or ideological conformity on the population, will probably vanish as well.