Editorial by Editor

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D.C. · Feb 15, 1906

Editorial

By Editor

Religion by Law

THERE is no doubt that the old-fashioned religious sentiment is on the decline in this country. People do not attend church as they did half a century ago. Family prayer is neglected in many professedly Christian homes. Even ministers and church-members do not have that reverence for the Bible as the Word of God which was shown by their fathers and mothers. As a result of all this there has been a letting down of moral standards, a slump of the general conscience. To meet this situation the professional reformers are now appealing for civil laws in order to enforce at least the forms of religious observance upon the people, and their zeal seems to be especially directed toward securing some kind of Sunday laws. It is true that there is a growing disregard for Sunday, and that it is more and more treated as a holiday instead of a holy day, but this is no excuse for Sunday laws. It is no part of the duty of the civil authorities to compel people to be religious or to act as if they were religious. One difficulty seems to be, however, that the people are learning that the Sunday sabbath does not rest upon any divine authority, and it is therefore almost impossible to secure for it that kind of recognition which is desired by its advocates. Hence the appeal for laws “to further protect the first day of the week as a day of rest.” But religion by law is not religion at all; it is either formalism or hypocrisy. Religion by law means persecution. Religion by law is a state religion—a mere substitute for religion. Legal enactments by Congress or State legislatures can never take the place of the spirit of obedience in the hearts of the people, and this is especially true when these enactments command the people to disobey God. Religion by law means the ruin of this nation, and the lawmakers need to know this. The third angel’s message is a protest against religion by law.