For close to 200 years since our nation’s founding in 1776, God was ever present in our public schools, and certainly present at graduation. The U.S. Supreme Court began its attempt to forbid prayer and God in our schools in 1957. For nearly this past half century, God’s been banned. Their ruling was predicated upon a convoluted interpretation of our Constitution’s First Amendment that states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…” Meaning, the United States Congress shall not establish a Church of the United States. The Church of England was the national religion in the former country of many of our nation’s founders. They absolutely said no to such an entity.
The absence of religious influence in our schools, over these many years, has been a contributor to the unprecedented violence we now see consuming our Nation. During my years in Glenwood’s high school, as well as across our state, prayer was present and violence was rare, even with guns everywhere. It was common during deer and elk hunting season to allow rifles to be stored in students personal hallway lockers.
However, it’s remarkable that the Pledge of Allegiance is allowed in Colorado’s schools. The Supreme Court took their thumbs off the scale for a moment and concluded “one nation under ‘God’” to mean “one nation under ‘Ceremonial Deism.’” A witch’s caldron might give you a whiff of what that means.
The Declaration of Independence tells us, citizens “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” It would take thousands of pages to document the words of our early statesmen and presidents that blend God within our government. Even to this day, the Supreme Court begins a session with “God save the United States and this Honorable Court.” This may be uncomfortable for a few of the justices.
The National Archives contain many documents relating to God. Religious inscriptions are found everywhere on Washington’s buildings, monuments and statues, as well as in every state of our union. Will our courts forevermore erased centuries of history?
Floyd Diemoz,
Glenwood Springs
