Free to Believe: The Faith of the Constitution

Rabbi Evan Moffic

Chicago Sinai Congregation

June 27, 2008

In Judaism, how do we find the answer to difficult questions? What, for example, does Judaism think about abortion? What do we think about gun control? Well, the traditional way is to go back to our texts. We begin with the Torah. Then we look to other books of the bible, then the Talmud, then the writings of the great rabbis. Now none of these writings deals with guns or explicitly with abortion procedures.  Yet, we go back to the texts to see what useful values they convey. Addressing gun control, we might ask--What kinds of weapons were permitted in ancient Israel? Did the rabbinic authorities place limits on what arms people could carry? Who was permitted to carry arms? Our texts are holy because we seek guidance and wisdom from them, and we use that wisdom to address contemporary challenges.

The same process exists in America. The Constitution does not address abortion. The Constitution does address regulation of arms and militias, but it does not say whether or not an individual can carry a concealed weapon. So our judges look back into the text--the constitution, the Bill of Rights, the decisions of other judges--and they apply the values and reasoning and circumstances of those cases to contemporary ones.

One of the factors in interpreting a text is the intent of the author. The more we know about the author, the better understanding we might have of how he or she might address contemporary challenges. A big question constantly debated by religious leaders and politicians is what our founders believed about religion. What kind of country did they intend America to be?

On one hand, religious fundamentalists argue that we were founded as a Christian nation. The late Jerry Falwell expressed this sentiment when he wrote, "Any diligent student of American history finds that our great nation was founded by godly men upon godly principles to be a Christian nation." On the other side, some argue that the founders were not all religious, At best, they were deists, who believed that God created the universe, then receded from the action. These questions have enormous implications. If America was founded as a Christian nation, then by definition certain beliefs and teachings of that religion have a privileged place in our society. Creationism, for example, could be taught in public schools. Sectarian prayer could be a legitimate way to start school or a Presidential press conference.

As we approach this Fourth of July, as we read in our Torah portion about the first democratic rebellion in ancient Israel led by a name named Korach, an important observation is in order. The genius of our founders is that their faith was far more thoughtful, complex and compelling than many insist. Our founders had faith in religion, and faith in religious diversity. What does this mean? To have faith in religion is to believe that it improves society.  Benjamin Franklin, who supported all the churches and even contributed to the building fund of a Philadelphia synagogue, believed that religion promoted self-discipline and positive moral virtues. It inculcated the habits of mind and responsibility essential to a democratic republic. John Adams saw religion as a means of sensitizing human beings.

Yet, as descendants of Puritans who had experienced persecution in British society, they were aware of its dangers. They minced no words in attacking irrational beliefs and those who justified violence against non-believers. They were, as Steve Waldman puts it in his new book about the faith of the founders, "spiritual enough to care passionately about religious freedom, but not so dogmatic that they felt duty-bound to promote a particular faith." (xv) Pluralism was their soaring vision. When one religion dominates, irrationality and hatred of the other grows. When a plurality of religions co-exist, reason and understanding grow.

The best example of this approach, especially in the context of American Jewish history, is George Washington. While Jefferson is given credit for articulating the doctrine of separation between church and state, Washington realized it. On the one hand, he practiced his faith. He went to an Episcopal Church. He is known to have prayed regularly. It was he who spontaneously added, at the end of taking his presidential oath of office, the famous phrase "so help me God." Yet, Washington always spoke about the importance of faith in general terms. He resisted those who urged him to speak publicly about Jesus and Christianity. Steve Waldman tells the story of a group of ministers who sent Washington a congratulatory letter after his retirement from public office. They praised him for being a good Christian. They figured, as Waldman writes, that his reply to them would discuss his love of Christ. He surprised them. In his response, Washington wrote generally about the importance of faith, proclaiming that "religion and morality are the essential pillars of civil society," and then he concluded by praising religious toleration. (59)

Similar themes of tolerance were echoed in Washington's famous letter to the Touro synagogue of Newport, Rhode Island. Responding to a note welcoming him to the city from the synagogue's leaders, Washington described the United States as a place that gives "To bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance."

America is a unique country. Founded by people of faith, we have never been a country governed by faith. We have the highest percentage of people who attend or belong to a house of worship of any democratic nation. Yet, unlike the countries of Europe, we have no official state religion. That's part of what made America different for Jews. Everywhere in Europe, Jews were by definition outsiders. They did not belong to the established church. But here we became part of the market place of religion. We had and continue to have the same freedoms of any faith. Because the founders cared about good government and good religion, they separated them from one another. Good fences, as Robert Frost once put it, make good neighbors.