RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN THE UNITED STATES.
By Hon. Oscar S. Straus
In the United States liberty of worship and of belief in matters of religion is not a concession or a privilege; it is a fundamental right recognized as being inherent in every individual, and the federal government is pledged not to abridge it or in anywise interfere therewith. This is the signification of our national Constitution. Had the Constitution remained silent upon the subject, religious liberty would still have existed under and by reason of it; yet, in that event, what would have been the subject of construction has been placed beyond cavil or dispute, so that even if a less liberal spirit should prevail, Congress could not assume the right to legislate sectarianism, Protestantism, Romanism, or any form of religion into civil life. The statesmen who framed our Constitution were too well read in the history of other governments, and had before them too clearly the sufferings of the people in their colonial state, not to dread and anticipate the abuse of authority resulting from the greed of power and the selfishness of sects, so they wisely guarded against this contingency by express enactment, whereby it is provided that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” —Hon. Oscar S. Straus, in “Religious Liberty in the United States.”