Date Posted:16:44:04 07/10/02 Wed Author: mvd Subject: Thomas Jerfferson on relgious freedoms
Being somewhat interested in the debate over the Pledge, I have hastened to the library and picked up some of the "Founding Fathers" original words. I have grown tired of others harkening back to them as if everyone in this country knew them personally! Here is what Jefferson had to say:
"No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever..."
He goes on to argue that men should be free to express their religious beliefs, but the above clearly puts the Pledge into the "compelling" class of statements. Students are, indeed, forced to recite it. This, by Jefferson's words, is in direct conflict with a man's natural rights.
