The British Catholic apologist G.K. Chesterton once said that America is “the only nation founded on a creed.” I wonder if that’s why the great Virginia Baptist John Leland opposed ratifying the United States Constitution, forcing James Madison’s father to write a letter imploring him to talk to to Leland and gain his support. By all accounts, Leland opposed the Constitution not because it was a creed, but because it lacked critical language protecting and enshrining religious liberty as a right for all citizens.
Partially because of Leland’s influence, Madison framed the Bill of Rights to protect these most basic human rights, including the free exercise of religion and liberty of conscience. Nearly two-hundred and twenty-five years later, lawmakers again find themselves wrestling with this most basic freedom and perhaps unsurprisingly, Baptists are still in the mix.
Read Full Article »