“Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by a difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought to be deprecated. I was in hopes that the enlightened and liberal policy, which has marked the present age, would at least have reconciled Christians of every denomination so far that we should never again see the religious disputes carried to such a pitch as to endanger the peace of society.” ~ George Washington letter to Edward Newenham, October 20, 1792
Dear George,
That one we're still working on.
Sincerely,
U.S.A.
P.S. -- Happy Independence Day 2013
Put that in the historical context that George Washington knew. His grandparents may well have been involved in religious wars in Europe. French Huguenots, Protestants who had been chased out of France by Catholics, had settled in his home state of Virginia. We have disagreements over the role and influence of religion on civil society and legislation, but we don't have the kind of thing that Washington knew first-hand or had met people who had memories of masses of people, entire populations, who were killed or forced from their homes and countries over religion.
ReplyDelete"... we don't have the kind of thing that Washington knew first-hand or had met people who had memories of masses of people, entire populations, who were killed or forced from their homes and countries over religion."
ReplyDeleteDo you watch the news, dude?
Seriously!