Tea at Trianon: Never Take Religious Freedom for Granted

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Never Take Religious Freedom for Granted

From CNS:

Bishop Košić explained that Croatia finally regained its freedom following the brutal Balkan war that broke up Yugoslavia at the cost of tens of thousands of Croatian lives. Once communism was overcome, Christians, and people of all faiths, celebrated the restoration of their religious freedom. Today, Croatia’s churches are full and overflowing.

Bishop Košić cautioned us: “Religious freedom is not free. It comes at a cost. You Americans have been given the gift of religious freedom. Protect it, and never take it for granted.”

Once we returned to Virginia, I was on a mission to learn more about our American religious freedom and how to protect this gift. To my surprise, I discovered that it was right in my hometown of Fredericksburg where the foundation of religious freedom was established for America. On Jan. 13, 1777, six months after penning the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson met in Fredericksburg with George Mason, George Wythe, Edmund Pendleton, and Thomas Ludwell Lee, on the corner of Caroline Street and William Street, at what was then Weedon’s Tavern.
During their five days of meetings, Jefferson took responsibility for drafting a religious freedom bill. The landmark legislation was introduced in the General Assembly and enacted as the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom on Jan. 16, 1786. Jefferson’s religious freedom bill — one of his three proudest accomplishments — established the right for all people to practice their faith freely and ensured that government would not foist a state religion upon anyone.
The statute began by stating that “Almighty God hath created the mind free” and that “to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical.” It added that “no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry...nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief.” It concluded by declaring that repeal of the religious freedom act would be “an infringement of natural right.” Three years later, Jefferson’s statute provided the groundwork for the religious freedom protections in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof....” What happened in Fredericksburg changed the course of history. Now, nearly 250 years later, religious freedom is one of America’s most pressing issues, and religious liberties are under increasing attack. (Read more.)