Church and State: The Ten Commandments, Pledge, and U.S. Motto in Today's Universe

7/24/2019 Church and State: The Ten Commandments, Pledge, and U.S. Motto in Today's Universe

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Church and State:

The Ten

Commandments,

Pledge,

and U.S. Motto

in Today's Universe

George H. Roinson



Co!yright "#$%

Contents

Cha!ter $ Introduction

Science, Religion, and the Cover Photograph Background

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Cha!ter " Ritual and Ethical Decalogues

Ritual )ecalogue Goethe's version

Ritual )ecalogue11&n (nglish Translation

(thical )ecalogue Protestant version

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Cha!ter 5 Current Relevance

Trial deity signi6icance

Ceremonial deism signi6icance

Other related forms of ceremonial deism

Theonomy signi6icance

Cha!ter 7 Biblical Consequences /H&T &R( TH( 88*C&* C+-S(9U(-C(S +4 3+*&T-G P&RTCU*&R C+MM&-)M(-TS0

&!odictic and casuistic las

An example from the Ethical Decalogue

Casuistic application

Other commandments and their penalties for violation

Conclusion to Part

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)SS+-&-C(

Cha!ter % Religious Demographics

Religious Ma;orities and Minorities in the /orld

Religious Ma;orities and Minorities in the United States

Cha!ter < Discrimination and Psychological Distance



)iscrimination

)evelo!ment o6 )iscrimination and Conse=uences

Blue Ees!Bro"n Ees #$ngroup vs. Outgroup%

Psychological )istance

Discrimination and Pschological Distance in &a'i (erman

)he *ilgram Experiments

)he Stockholm and +ima Sndromes

Cha!ter > Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive )issonance and Psychological )istance

hen Prophec -ails

&e" )estament Eschatolog #or hen Bi.lical Prophec -ails%

Cognitive )issonance and the 8attle6ield

Cha!ter ? Cognitive Dissonance and Church-State Conlict

The Pledge o6 &llegiance

n God /e Trust

The Motto and the (stalishment Clause

Conclusion to Part

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Cha!ter A ! Basis or "orality

The Golden Rule (thic o6 Reci!rocity

The )ostoevsBy 3ie 8elie6 in God and Morality

/omicide Rates and the &ecessit of a Belief in (od

/omicide Rates and Religiosit

/omicide Rates and Belief in (od

& Theological 8asis 6or Morality

The Code o6 Hammurai

The Mosaic Code ncluding the Ten Commandments

Theocratic Concerns

Cha!ter $# Church-State separation in the #nited States



/ho is the God o6 Ceremonial )eism0

Conclusion to Part

Conclusion to the 8ooB

&!!endi

)a.le 0A1 Selected Alpha.etical +isting of Some -irst Amendment Decisions

)a.le 2A1 Selected Chronological +isting of Some -irst Amendment Decisions



Contents

$n Part $, follo"ing evolving vie"s over millennia a.out cosmolog and itsrelation to religion, $ descri.e the three versions of the )en Commandments givenin the Pentateuch #including m translation of (oethe3s version of "hat has come to.e kno"n as the Ritual Decalogue of Exodus 45%6 $n contrast to the vie"s of man,the conse7uences of the popular Ethical Decalogue #given in Exodus 28 and, "ithsome minor differences in Deuteronom 9% are sho"n to .e much less .enign than most

people kno" or have considered6 $, then, suggest some ideas a.out possi.leaudiences for these sets of )en Commandments, ranging in significance from thosedelivered . a tri.al deit to the $sraelites alone to a "orld!"ide communit6

Part $$ is concerned "ith religious demographics and their conse7uences6orld"ide and :nited States ma;orit and minorit religions are ta.ulated "ith adiscussion of ingroup vs6 outgroup comparisons and conse7uences6 A discussion isgiven of the role of discrimination .et"een ma;orit #dominate% and minorit#su.ordinate% groups along "ith factors contri.uting to discrimination #e.g 6,phsiognomic characteristics, pschological distance .et"een groups andindividuals, and cognitive dissonance%6 Church!state conflicts and court decisionsattempting to resolve ma;orit vs. minoriti religious vie"points "ithin the :nitedStates are descri.ed and interpreted6 Specificall, the role of cognitive

dissonance is applied to <ceremonial deism= and its use in reducing -irst AmendmentEsta.lishment Clause offense caused . the phrase <under (od= in the Pledge ofAllegiance, <$& (OD E )R:S)= on currenc, and the current official :6 S6 motto,<$n (od "e )rust= #"hich replaced the unofficial non!religious <E Pluribus #num$ %6

Part $$$ is devoted to some speculations a.out moralit and religion, including.rief descriptions of some historic moral!legal codes6 $, then, descri.e someconcerns $ have involving the separation of church and state in the :nited Statesand the concept of <ceremonial deism6= )he .ook ends "ith an advocac of religiousfreedom and separation of church and state6 An Appendix #in t"o parts% is includedlisting some church!state court decisions alpha.eticall #)a.le 0A% andchronologicall #)a.le 2A%6



Cha!ter $ Introduction

$f $ have achieved m goals in "riting this .ook #or extended essa%, the reader"ill find it to .e offensive, unorthodox, thought!provoking, penetrating,iconoclastic, as "ell as informative6 -or example, in contrast to man vie"sexpressed in the popular press that the )en Commandments are desira.le #or, if notcompletel relevant in our time, the do provide a set of favored forms of personal

conduct for us%, $ suggest that the set "ith "hich most people are familiarincludes commandments "hich are not as .enign or humane as generall .elieved6 $nthe follo"ing pages $ am, ho"ever, primaril concerned "ith freedom of #and from%religion as this freedom is "idel #.ut not universall% vie"ed . residents of the:nited States6 * vie", "hich $ .elieve is the vie" of the :6 S6 Constitution, isthat the federal and individual state governments should .e neutral "ith regard toreligion in terms of .eliefs and, so long as there is no adverse effect on others,practices6 )his neutralit is specified and re7uired . Article Six and, also, theEsta.lishment and -ree Exercise Clauses of the -irst Amendment of the :6 S6Constitution and extended in its application to the states through the -ourteenthAmendment6 $n recent ears there seem to have .een attempts to circumvent thisneutralit . various groups "ith the fre7uent assistance of pu.lic officials6 *ostof these attempts have .een made to support a particular religion, usuall

Christianit6 Religious support or opposition to an particular religion iscompletel legal and constitutional "hen it is privatel funded and occurs onprivate propert6 )he issue arises "hen, and onl "hen, direct or indirect pu.licfinancing occurs or the support is manifested on pu.lic propert, in "hich case thesupport .ecomes constitutionall non!neutral . favoring either religion or anti!religion6

)here have .een man federal cases over the past centur in various courts#district, appeals, or the Supreme Court% in "hich church!state issues have .eendecided6 A num.er of these have involved the posting of the <)en Commandments= onpu.lic propert, and decisions . the Supreme Court have .oth favored and struckdo"n their posting, depending upon the circumstances of their posting6 * primarconcern is not so much "ith the legal status of posted versions of the )enCommandments, .ut, rather, "ith the composition of the posted versions #legal and

other"ise% and their underling meaning and significance6 Although most people arevaguel a"are of "hat is kno"n as the Ethical Decalogue of Exodus Chapter 28 #and aslightl different version in Deuteronom Chapter 9%, relativel fe" outside thescholarl communit are a"are of a third version, the Ritual Decalogue, of ExodusChapter 456 $ descri.e and discuss the Ethical and Ritual Decalogues and, also,ela.orate rarel mentioned conse7uences re7uired . the Ethical Decalogue for itsinfractions6 )his material is covered in Part $6

Part $$ is concerned "ith religious demographics "ithin the :nited States andho" diverse vie"points exist, some ma;orit and some minorit6 Discriminationagainst a minorit #or su.ordinate% group . a ma;orit #or dominant% group candevelop in several "as6 Examples of discrimination, along "ith conse7uences, aregiven .oth for experimental and, also, naturall occurring events #such as events

in &a'i (erman%6 -actors that either "orsen or ameliorate the results ofdiscrimination are descri.ed6 )he role of cognitive dissonance and the influence ofpschological separation .et"een dominant and su.ordinate groups or individuals isdescri.ed "ith examples of studies that illustrate the role of these varia.les ininfluencing .ehavior of dominant factions relative to su.ordinate groups6

$ speculate that cognitive dissonance is, also, involved in some of the courtdecisions concerned "ith church!state disputes6 Specificall, the controversinvolving the addition of <under (od= to the Pledge of Allegiance, and the officialadoption of <$n (od e )rust= #replacing the unofficial <E Pluribus #num=% as the*otto of the :nited States, along "ith the re7uired placement of <$& (OD E )R:S)=



on all currenc are descri.ed in some detail6 (overnment sponsorship of o.viousreligious language supporting monotheism generates among ;urists, "ho must ;ustifit vis-a-vis the :6 S6 Constitution, a pro.a.le increase in cognitive dissonance6)he concept of <ceremonial deism= seems to .e emploed to reduce dissonance andrationali'e governmental advocac of theistic religion "ith a theoreticall neutral:6 S6 Constitution6

>irtuall all parenthetical references in the text are to readil accessi.le

sources on the $nternet6 *an of the sources are articles in ikipedia, selected asthe most easil accessed source, "hile recogni'ing that a search engine search canreveal other articles covering the same topics6 Court cases, .riefl listed as<Plainti v. Deendant,= can usuall .e found . using that phrase #"ith theactual names of the litigating parties in place of those "ithin 7uotation marks% asthe su.;ect in a search engine search6 * intentional deviation from standard#e.g 6, APA format% referencing is an attempt to avoid pa"alls for the reader .indicating alternative free #and legal% immediate access to articles online6

Science, Religion, and the Cover Photograph Background

-or those "ho look to the Bi.le for accurate scientific kno"ledge,disappointment a"aits6 )he confrontations .et"een science and .i.lical themes are

generall "ell kno"n "ith regard to evolution and geolog, .ut there are otherscientific disciplines involved as "ell6 Consider the heart, "hich is mentionedhundreds of times "ithin the canonical Old and &e" )estaments6 -rom the Pentateuch,alone #?ing @ames >ersion%, "e find thoughts of his heart, #(enesis 19%, saidin his heart, #(enesis 2150%, glad in his heart, #Exodus 5,05%, hardening ofPharaoh3s heart in various "as #Exodus 14 10F F102 F145!49 0810 081280812 00108 and 051%, "illing heart, #Exodus 49,9%, "hose heart made them"illing, #Exodus 4912F%, "isdom of heart, #Exodus 49149%, in "hose heart the+ORD had put "isdom, #Exodus 412%, sorro" of heart, #+eviticus 210%,discourage e the heart of the children, #&um.ers 421%, made his hearto.stinate, #Deuteronom 2148%, consider it in thine heart, #Deuteronom 514F%,uprightness of thine heart, #Deuteronom F19%, our heart .e not deceived,#Deuteronom 0010%, "icked heart, #Deuteronom 091F%, gladness of heart,#Deuteronom 215%, and trem.ling heart, #Deuteronom 219%6 +iterall, these

comments are neuropschologicall implausi.le6 Possi.l, these phrases "ereintended to .e interpreted metaphoricall, and the .rain is the intended organ6 )he.rain, ho"ever, is not mentioned in the canonical .i.lical text6 Everda phrasesin contemporar life include some ;ust mentioned plus heav heart, "eak heart,faint heart, no.le heart, hearts content #Shakespeare%, heart!to!heart,straight from the heart, uplifted heart,.roken heart, a compassionateheart, among others6

Another area of seemingl perennial conflict is the field of cosmolog6 $maginethe experience of a person some 4988 ears ago as he or she looks up at night6 $fclouds are a.sent one "ould see stars, some fixed in relative position from nightto night "hile others seemed to change position or "ander #planets% and, on somenights, the moon6 During dalight times #<hours= "ere not invented for man

centuries, although various time divisions "ere made in different ancient culturesGhttp1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiH/ourI% the Sun made its appearance and starsvanished6 $n the /e.raic cosmolog of the time all of these celestial o.;ectsseemed to .e situated along the inside of a giant inverted .o"l, and the movedeach da from East to est a.ove the earth, "hich seemed to .e flat, extending outto the ends #or the four corners% of the earth6 #See Deuteronom 041F @o. 4144104 E'ekiel 12 $saiah 00102 Revelation 106% )he .i.lical cosmologicalstructure seemed to consist of the firmament a.ove #.o"l% separating "ater a.ove itfrom the air space and earth .elo" "hich is positioned a.ove an under"orldconsisting of more "ater and Sheol #an earl version of /ell or /ades, vagueldefined%6 #See (enesis 01!F Exodus 2815 $saiah 051F @o. 219!006% Distances to



the Sun, *oon, and stars could onl .e ver imprecisel estimated, .ut theapparentl "ere not ver great6 $n the &e" )estament snoptic apocalpse, forexample, one of the indications of the return of the Son of man is the occurrenceof stars falling to the earth #*atthe" 2512F *ark 04129%6

Over the ears since then, the 7uestion of distance .et"een humans on earth andcelestial o.;ects has .een repeatedl asked and ans"ered in various cosmologicalmodels6 ith the development of /ellenic science and philosoph, the earth .ecame

considered to .e .oth spherical and, "ith Aristotle and #more ela.oratel% Ptolem,also the geocentric center of the kno"n universe6 *uch of Ptolem3s speculation "as.ased on star maps developed previousl . the astronomer /ipparchus6 Ptolem3sgeocentric vie", perhaps largel through the the previous geocentric vie" ofAristotle and the influence Aristotle had on St6 )homas A7uinas and the CatholicChurch, continued to .e dominant for "ell over a thousand ears6 Astronomicaldistances have .een, in recent ears, clarified . a num.er of developments6Consider a succession of independent overlapping ladders of evidence arranged suchthat, "hen placed together, there are among common overlapping parts, stars "hosedistances can .e measured in multiple "as, there. providing converging evidenceof their distances from the sun #and earth%6 )his provides a multiplicit ofmethods for determining distances to various recentl discovered parts of theuniverse including parallax #.oth optical and ver long .aseline interferometr%,

standard candles, Cepheid varia.le stars, )pe $a supernovae, /ert'sprung!Russellspectral estimates of stellar a.solute magnitude, and redshifted magnitudes relatedto distance for extra!galactic sources6#https1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiHCosmicJdistanceJladder%

)he heliocentric theor proposed . Copernicus #0954 CE% "as not astheologicall!friendl as the geocentric theor favored . the Catholic Church6 -orexample, the standing still of the Sun over (i.eon and of the *oon in the valle ofA;alon #@oshua 08102!04% "ere more challenging to interpret if the earth "as notcentral6 (alileo "as placed under house arrest . the Church for his adoption ofthe theologicall unaccepta.le Copernican theor #Copernicus, reportedl, had .eenon his death .ed "hen he finall released his theor to the "orld%6 (alileo used atelescope he .uilt, after the design of /ans +ippersk, to discover some of thecomplexit of the optical universe including the four <(alilean moons= of @upiter,

sunspots, and phases of >enus6#https1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiH/istorJofJtheJtelescope%

)he development of improved telescopes has .een associated "ith increasingamounts of information a.out the earth3s placement "ithin the solar sstem, thediscover of other planets and their moons, the categori'ing . *essier #andothers% of ne.ulous o.;ects in the night sk no" kno"n as galaxies, one of "hich isthe *ilk a in "hich the earth and solar sstem reside6 Since 0F88 CE theestimated num.er of galaxies, .ased on telescopic o.servation, has increased intothe .illions #one American .illion K one thousand million% "ith man of thesegalaxies each containing .illions of stars6 )he are moving a"a from each other,as found . Ed"in /u..le, "ith increasing velocit at greater distances #asindicated . the redshifted light from them% in "hat appears to .e an expanding

universe6 $f it is expanding, then one might . tracing .ack"ard in time determine"hen the universe had its start this "as proposed . the Belgian phsicist andpriest (eorges +emaitre6 )he result of this retrospective consideration is no"kno"n as the Big Bang, "hich occurred 046 .illion ears ago6 $n recent ears morethan one thousand exoplanets #planets revolving around other stars% have .eenfound, and the or.iting /u..le telescope has provided much clearer images ofcelestial o.;ects than can .e o.tained from ground!.ased telescopes having to vie"celestial o.;ects through the atmosphere6 )he cover photo for this .ook is aportion of the /u..le eLtreme Deep -ield #LD-% sho"ing galaxies that are up to 0462.illion ears old6 #https1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiHCosmolog%



Cosmologicall, "e live in an exciting, complex, and fa.ulous age6 (iven thatour kno"ledge of the o.serva.le universe has expanded tremendousl over the past088 ears as a result of improvements in o.servational e7uipment #optical and radiotelescopes, CCD3s, satellites, etc6%, one can onl "onder "hat "ill .e kno"n 088ears hence #or 0888 ears hence%6 ith access to, and storage of, informationexpanding at an increasing rate and the expansion of the $nternet, the futureshould .e more exciting than the present6

Religious and secular cosmologies diverge "ith respect to the role theintroduce supernatural #or non!natural% causative elements into explanations6 (odis not likel to .e mentioned in secular accounts either .ecause of non!.elief orthrough an a.sence of an empirical evidence of a causative influence .eingpresent6 Bi.lical cosmolog varies in its theological manifestations6 Some adoptscientific findings and attempt to harmoni'e them "ith scriptural statements6Others #literalists and fundamentalists%, ho"ever, ma include in their .eliefsstem one or more gods a .elief that the earth and its population "as created in5885 BCE #as Bishop :ssher famousl estimated% that a deit #Mah"eh% caused a"orld!"ide flood that killed all of the earth3s population of men, "omen, children,and animals, except for &oah and his extended famil, and either t"o or seven ofeach tpe of animal .ecause of the .ad .ehavior of other people that a group ofpeople led . *oses .ecame favored . Mah"eh, su.;ect to their acceptance of and

o.edience to the la"s specified . Mah"eh #"hich included the <)en Commandments=%,among other .eliefs6 )hese .eliefs are included "ithin the religions of @udaism,Christianit, and $slam, all of "hich have in common traditions going .ack toA.raham of the Old )estament6 )he .elief sstem has, over the ears, come to .ekno"n as A.rahamic monotheism, a designation $ "ill use for convenience6

-or readers of this .ook "ho happen to fall "ithin the A.rahamic tradition someof Parts $ and $$ ma .e upsetting6 )he distur.ing parts are likel to .estatements from the Bi.le "hich are unexpected .ecause the are usuall notmentioned6 )here are commands . the deit of the $sraelites, Mah"eh, that are to.e o.eed and "hich are illegal in the :nited States6 * mentioning these "ill .edistur.ing to some and not to others, depending upon our theological orientation6$t is not m intent to upset, nor to convert one in his or her religious .eliefs6* primar concern is for the integrit of the -irst Amendment of the :6 S6

Constitution6 $ .elieve each person has an a.solute right to .elieve "hatever the.elieve as long as it does not adversel affect other people6

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Over the past six decades attempts to place monuments to the )en Commandmentshave .een repeatedl made and challenged #as to the constitutionalit of placementson pu.lic land%6 )his .ook is concerned, not as much "ith the legal aspects, .ut"ith less superficial details of the idea of a )en Commandments monument6Specificall, $ "ill address the follo"ing concerns from a laman3s vie"point#religiousl and legall%1 0% hat are the )en CommandmentsN 2% /o" are thetpicall represented on monumentsN 4% hat is the current relevance of the )enCommandmentsN and 5% hat are the .i.lical conse7uences of violating particular

commandmentsN

Rather than approaching this . relating vie"s given . the (raf!ellhausendocumentar hpothesis, particularl for the Pentateuch #"here different parts areascri.ed to authors identified . @, E, D, or P%, $ "ill simpl use the Standard?ing @ames >ersion #?@>% of the Old )estament .ecause of its availa.ilit, generalacceptance, and prevalence #recogni'ing that some might prefer other versions forreada.ilit, accurac, or .oth%6 hether or not *oses "rote all, most, or an ofthe Pentateuch is not relevant to this essa6 $n addition, for the convenience ofthe reader, references are given parentheticall "ithin the text and are to sta.leand availa.le sites on the $nternet6



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Cha!ter " Ritual and Ethical Decalogues

ithin the canonical Old and &e" )estaments the phrase )en Commandments #or<)en ords=%appears a total of three times6 Exodus 4512, Deuteronom 5104, andDeuteronom 0815 each mention this phrase, .ut a listing of the commandments is

given onl . Exodus Chapter 456 +istings of commandments "ithout the accompaningphrase appear in Exodus Chapter 28 and Deuteronom Chapter 96 A list of six of thefamiliar )en Commandments appears in *atthe" 0F10!0F, again "ithout the phrase,)en Commandments6

)he Exodus 45 version of the )en Commandments radicall differs from thoselisted in Exodus 28 and Deuteronom 96 )he list in Exodus 45, kno"n as the RitualDecalogue, is largel unfamiliar .ecause of the greater emphasis on those in Exodus28 and Deuteronom 9, kno"n as the Ethical Decalogue6 )he "riter @ohann olfgangvon (oethe provided his arrangement of the version in Exodus 45 as follo"s1

Ritual )ecalogue Goethe's version

06Du sollst keinen andern (ott an.eten6 Darum hte dich, da du nicht einen Bund mit den Ein"ohnern des +ands machstnoch deinen SQhnen ihre )Qchter 'u ei.ern nehmest, sie "rden dich 'ufalschen (Qttern kehren6 E.en so "enig sollst du mit irgend einem Bilde "as'u tun ha.en6

26Das -est der ungesuerten Brot sollst du halten6 Sie.en )age sollst du ungesuert Brot essen um die eit des *onats A.i., 'ur

Erinnerung, da ich dich um diese eit aus Egpten gefhrt ha.e6 46Alles "as seine *utter am ersten .richt, ist mein, "as mnnlich sein "ird in

deinem >ieh es sei Ochse oder Schaf6 A.er statt dem Erstling des Esels sollstdu ein Schaf erlegen etc6 Die Erstge.urt deiner SQhne sollst du lQsen, undda niemand vor mir leer erscheine6

56Sechs )age sollst du ar.eiten, am sie.enten )age sollst du feiern .eides mitPflgen und Ernten6

96Das -est der ochen sollst du halten mit den Erstlingen der ei'enernte, und das-est der Einsammlung "enn das @ahr um ist6

6Dreimal im @ahr sollen alle *annsnamen erscheinen vor dem /errn6 :nd es sollniemand deines +ands .egehren, so lang du diesem (e.ote gehorchst6

6Du sollst das Blut meines Opfers nicht opfern auf dem gesuerten Brot6 6Das Opfer des Osterfests soll nicht .er &acht .lei.en6 F6Das Erstling der -rchte deines Ackers sollst du in das /aus des /erren .ringen6086Du sollst das BQcklein nicht kochen, "enns noch an seiner *utter *ilch ist6

"o "ichtige .isher unerQrterte .i.lische -ragenum erstenmal grndlich .eant"ortet,von einem +andgeistlichen in Sch"a.en6+indau am Bodensee

04

Do"nloaded and excerpted from http1HHguten.erg6spiegel6deH.uchHkur'e!religi!95H0

(oethe3s Ritual Decalogue parallels closel, "ith onl a fe" insignificant changes,the text of Exodus 45 given in *artin +uther3s (erman translation of the Bi.le6Being una.le to find an English translation else"here, $ provide m translation of(oethe3s version1

Ritual )ecalogueD&n (nglish Translation



06 )hou shalt "orship no other (od6)herefore, "atch out that thou not make an alliance "ith the inha.itants ofthe land nor that th sons marr their daughters, "ho "ould turn thee tofalse (ods6 Even as little as having to do "ith images6

26 )hou shalt keep the festival of unleavened .read6Seven das shalt thou eat unleavened .read around the time of the month A.i.,in order to commemorate the time $ led thee out of Egpt6

46 All .easts initiall emerging from their mother, .e the oxen or sheep, are

mine6 But instead of an ass, thou shalt hunt do"n a sheep6 )he first.orn ofth sons shalt thou release so that none appear .efore me empt6

56 Six das shalt thou "ork, .ut on the seventh cele.rate plo"ing and harvesting6

96 ?eep the festival of "eeks "ith the first of the "heat crops, and the festivalof collection at the end of the ear6

6 )hree times per ear shall all men appear .efore the +ord6 &one shall covet thland so long as this commandment is o.eed6

6 )hou shalt not sacrifice the .lood of m offering on the leavened .read6

6 )he sacrifice of the festival of the passover shall not remain overnight6

F6 )he firstfruits of th field shall thee .ring to the house of the +ord6

086 )hou shalt not cook a oung ram if it is in his mother3s milk6

)he listing for <Decalogue= in the Eleventh Edition of the Encclopedia Britannicaprovides additional information and suggestions a.out the composition of the )enCommandments of Exodus 45 apart from the version provided . (oethe6#http1HH"""6studlight6orgHencclopediasH.riHvie"6cgiNnK%

Since translating (oethe3s version, $ have discovered a less literal translation

included in a letter dated 05 &ovem.er 004 from @ohn Adams to )homas @efferson in"hich Adams raises the follo"ing 7uestion as a preface to (oethe3s arrangement1

Among all our researches in /e.re" /istor and Controvers have ou ever met a .ook, the design of "hich is to prove, that the ten Commandments, as e

have them in our Catechisms and hung up in our Churches, "ere not the )enCommandments "ritten . the -inger of (od upon ta.les, delivered to *oses onmount Sinai and .roken . him in a passion "ith Aaron for his golden calf,nor those after"ards engraved . him on )a.les of Stone .ut a ver differentSett of CommandmentsN#http1HHfounders6archives6govHdocumentsH@effersonH84!8!82!85T)@08F4J9%

Contrast the a.ove Ritual Dialogue "ith the follo"ing Ethical Decalogue .ased on

Exodus Chapter 28 #preserving ?@> English case and spelling%1

(thical )ecalogue Protestant version

And (od spake all these "ords, saing, $ am the +ord th (od, "hich have .roughtthee out of the land of Egpt, out of the house of .ondage6

0 )hou shalt have no other gods .efore me6 2 )hou shalt not make unto thee an graven image, or an likeness of an thing

that is in heaven a.ove, or that is in the earth .eneath, or that is in the"ater under the earth6 )hou shalt not .o" do"n thself to them, nor serve



them1 for $ the +ORD th (od am a ;ealous (od, visiting the ini7uit of thefathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them thathate me And she"ing merc unto thousands of them that love me, and keep mcommandments6

4 )hou shalt not take the name of the +ORD th (od in vain for the +ORD "illnot hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain6

5 Remem.er the sa..ath da, to keep it hol6 Six das shalt thou la.our, and doall th "ork1 But the seventh da is the sa..ath of the +ORD th (od1 in it

thou shalt not do an "ork, thou, nor th son, nor th daughter, thmanservant, nor th maidservant, nor th cattle, nor th stranger that is"ithin th gates1 -or in six das the +ORD made heaven and earth, the sea,and all that in them is, and rested the seventh da1 "herefore the +ORD.lessed the sa..ath da, and hallo"ed it6

9 /onour th father and th mother1 that th das ma .e long upon the land"hich the +ORD th (od giveth thee6

)hou shalt not kill6 )hou shalt not commit adulter6 )hou shalt not steal6 F )hou shalt not .ear false "itness against th neigh.our608 )hou shalt not covet th neigh.ourUs house, thou shalt not covet th

neigh.ourUs "ife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor

his ass, nor an thing that is th neigh.ourUs6



#-rom https1HHcommons6"ikimedia6orgH"ikiH-ile1)enJCommandmentsJ*onument6;pg%

H+/ &R( TH(2 T2PC&**2 R(PR(S(-T() +- M+-UM(-TS0

Of the conventional @e"ish, Catholic, and Protestant versions #"hich are versimilar%, a (oogle image search of )en Commandments monuments indicates that mostinclude the Protestant version #although at least one instance of a ?@>!RitualDecalogue, possi.l . accident, is included in a stor a.out an Oklahoma legalcase%6 &evertheless, popular opinion!!largel una"are of the existence of theRitual Decalogue!!appears to favor the Exodus Chapter 28 Protestant version6

$llustration 01 Ethical Decalogue on )exas *onument



$llustration 0 sho"s the monument presented . )he -raternal Order of Eagles of)exas to the State of )exas6 $t is unclear "h the Ritual Decalogue of ExodusChapter 45 has received as little attention as it has, since it, alone, isidentified as the )en Commandments, and no mention of the )en Commandments is madein either Exodus 28 or Deuteronom 96 )he ikipedia article on the Ritual Decalogue#http1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiHRitualJDecalogue% provides additional information6ith regard to the displa of the )en Commandments, *ichael Coogan comments in hisauthoritative and ver reada.le .ook, %he %en Commandments& ! Short 'istory o an

!ncient %e(t #&e" /aven1 Male :niversit Press, 2805%Galso in a ?indle editionI,<$f it is to .e displaed, $ suggest that copies of the full text of all threeversions of the Decalogue .e posted in classrooms and other venues, to teachreaders ho" the Bi.le "as formed over time, and "hat that implies for its status asa supreme authorit6=

)his leads to the next 7uestion6

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Cha!ter 5 Current Relevance

Trial )eity Signi6icance

/ereafter in this essa $ "ill limit mself, mainl, to the Protestant versionof the Ethical Decalogue #.ased on Exodus 28% as listed a.ove6 )his Decalogue seemsto .e variousl interpreted toda as either a summar of the covenant .et"een the

henotheistic tri.al deit Mah"eh #http1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiH)etragrammaton% andthe people led . *oses, there. limiting contact or interaction "ith the gods ofother peoples or a statement of commands provided . a monotheistic deittranscending tri.es and having a more universal application6 )he context in "hichthe Decalogue appears in Deuteronom 91 #<$ am the +ORD th (od, "hich .roughtthee out of the land of Egpt, from the house of .ondage6=% seems to suggest thetri.al deit concept and is reinforced . the first commandment to have no othergods .efore Mah"eh6 *icah 510!9 seems to support this interpretation6 Some of theother gods of concern include Rimmon #2 ?ings 910% *olech #+eviticus 0120+eviticus 2812!9% Baal #@udges 2104% Ashtaroth #@udges 2104% Baal!e.u. orBeel'e.u., the god of Ekron #2 ?ings 012!4% among others6 )hese are not to .econfused "ith alternate names for the $sraelite deit, "hich include Mah"ehGexpanded from the )etragrammaton, <M//=I #?@>1 +ORD%, Elohim #?@>1 (od%, Adonai

#?@>1 +ord%, El Shaddai #?@>1 (od Almight%, as "ell as other less fre7uent names6)he ?ing @ames >ersion #?@>% names are case sensitive6#http1HH"""6got7uestions6orgHnames!of!(od6html%

Consistent "ith the concept of a tri.al deit is the idea that the *osaiccovenant .et"een Mah"eh and the $sraelites and, later, the southern ?ingdom of@udah provided governing la"s #http1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiH*osaicJcovenant%6 Allothers are governed under the &oachic covenant, named for descendants of &oah#http1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiHCovenantJ#.i.lical%T&oachicJcovenant%6 )he ikipediaarticle on Mah"eh descri.es theories of his evolution from the *osaic tri.al deitto a monotheistic deit of everthing follo"ing the Ba.lonian exile6#http1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiHMah"eh%

Ceremonial )eism Signi6icance

$t is likel, ho"ever, that those advocating pu.lic displas of the )enCommandments "ould adopt the vie" that the are not limited in applica.ilit to*oses and his group of follo"ers, .ut have current relevance to other culturesin the modern "orld6 $n the :nited States the status of the )en Commandments issuggested . the follo"ing comments . @ustice Scalia in his dissenting opinion in"cCreary County v. !merican Civil )iberties #nion o *y 1

/istorical practices thus demonstrate that there is a distance .et"eenthe ackno"ledgment of a single Creator and the esta.lishment of a religion6)he former is, as "arsh v. Chambers put it, <a tolera.le ackno"ledgment of.eliefs "idel held among the people of this countr6= $d6, at F26 )he threemost popular religions in the :nited States, Christianit, @udaism, and $slam

V"hich com.ined account for F6W of all .elieversVare monotheistic6 See :6S6 Dept6 of Commerce, Bureau of Census, Statistical A.stract of the :nitedStates1 2885X2889, p6 99 #025th ed6 2885% #)a.le &o6 %6 All of them,moreover #$slam included%, .elieve that the )en Commandments "ere given .(od to *oses, and are divine prescriptions for a virtuous life6 GYI Pu.liclhonoring the )en Commandments is thus indistinguisha.le, insofar asdiscriminating against other religions is concerned, from pu.liclhonoring (od6 Both practices are recogni'ed across such a .road and diverserange of the populationVfrom Christians to *uslimsVthat the cannot .ereasona.l understood as a government endorsement of a particular religiousvie"point6



#https1HHsupreme6;ustia6comHcasesHfederalHusH959H84!0F4Hdissent6htm%GSome internal citations omitted6I

@ustice Scalia states that pu.licl honoring )he )en Commandments and pu.liclhonoring (od <cannot .e reasona.l understood as a government endorsement of aparticular religious vie"point6= )he range listed from Christian to $slam iso.viousl limited to theistic religious vie"points and does not include atheistic,agnostic, pantheistic, ignostic, deistic, nor an of a si'a.le num.er of other

non!A.rahamic religious vie"points "hich are either unkno"n or of no concern to him#.ut do concern a su.stantial minorit of :nited States citi'ens%6

Posted "ith the *cCrear Count pla7ue containing the )en Commandments "as thestatement1

)he )en Commandments have profoundl influenced the formation of esternlegal thought and the formation of our countr6 )hat influence is clearlseen in the Declaration of $ndependence, "hich declared that, Ze hold thesetruths to .e self!evident, that all men are created e7ual, that the areendo"ed . their Creator "ith certain unaliena.le Rights, that among theseare +ife, +i.ert, and the pursuit of /appiness6U )he )en Commandmentsprovide the moral .ackground of the Declaration of $ndependence and the

foundation of our legal tradition6#https1HHsupreme6;ustia6comHcasesHfederalHusH959H84!0F4Hdissent6htm%

:nstated "as an indication as to ho" the )en Commandments #so referenced%, thatexplicitl limits "hat gods are permissi.le and not permissi.le for "orship andho", for religious reasons, one must spend the sa..ath, is the foundation of ourlegal traditionVparticularl relative to the Esta.lishment and -ree ExerciseClauses of the -irst Amendment to the :6 S6 Constitution6 $n contrast to the vie"of @ustice Scalia, a #possi.l unreasona.le% person "ho is a deist, pantheist,pandeist, poldeist, agnostic, or atheist "ould take exception to the underlingconcept of <ceremonial deism= #as Dean Rosto" of the Male +a" School theologicallinaccuratel designated "hat should have .een called ceremonial theism% .eingapplied6 #See @ustice O3Conner3s endorsement test in her concurring opinion in)ynch v. Donnelly also, S6 B6 Epstein, <Rethinking the Constitutionalit of

Ceremonial Deism,= Colum.ia +a" Revie", 0FF, F, 284!205Ghttp1HH"""6;stor6orgHsta.leH002450I6% $t is unclear "hether or not @ustice Scaliaconsiders people of such minorit vie"points as having legal standing or existence6)he usefulness of using this kind of religious appeal in pu.lic life andinstitutions seems to lie in its a.ilit to escape the re7uirements of theEsta.lishment Clause in the :6 S6 Constitution6 @ustice Brennan, in his dissentingopinion in )ynch v. Donnelly #@ustices *arshall, Blackmun, and Stevens concurring%stated,

hile $ remain uncertain a.out these 7uestions, $ "ould suggest that suchpractices as the designation of $n (od e )rust as our national motto, orthe references to (od contained in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag can.est .e understood, in Dean Rosto"3s apt phrase, as a form GofI ceremonial

deism, protected from Esta.lishment Clause scrutin chiefl .ecause thehave lost through rote repetition an significant religious content6

)hus, "e have in this intermediar form of religious interpretation of terms asituation in "hich, as applied to the Ethical Decalogue, one could sa the are notactuall a religious declaration and are not rigidl governing other than re7uired. secular la"6 $t might .e helpful to note that deism, as it appears in the OxfordEnglish Dictionar is defined as, <)he distinctive doctrine or .elief of a deistusuall a .elief in the existence of a Supreme Being as the source of finiteexistence, "ith a re;ection of revelation and the supernatural doctrines ofChristianit 3natural religion36=



Other related forms of ceremonial deism

$n the case of ceremonial deism #as @ustice Brennan uses the phrase%, there ma.e little or no difference in acceptance .et"een persons of diverse theologicalvie"points in everda practice6 Both .elievers and non!.elievers ma continue touse :nited States currenc inscri.ed "ith <$& (OD E )R:S)= "ithout noticing or.eing a"are of its existence #or uppercase lettering%6 )rue, it does discriminate

against one of the A.rahamic religions . its use of <(OD= instead of <A++A/= #onema imagine ho" long the :6 S6 Congress "ould spend on an amendment to add <A++A/="herever <(OD= appears%6 A possi.le reason for the greater acceptance on currencma .e that the use of currenc "ith its restrictive religious connotation ispassive, vis-+-vis religion, in the same "a that purchasing an art "ork, such as)he +ast Supper . +eonardo da >inci, might have onl passive religious meaning toseller and purchaser6 )his "ould attenuate, .ut not preclude, Esta.lishment Clauseconcerns6

)he phrase <under (od= in the Pledge of Allegiance is more pro.lematical #sinceits inception in 0F95% .ecause the person reciting the Pledge is activel making atheistic #not deistic, poldeistic, pantheistic, etc6% affirmation of implied.elief6 A nontheist cannot sa the Pledge "ithout, ipso acto, falsifing his or

her .elief sstem6 )he suggestion . theists that the nontheist should ;ust sa the"ords an"a ma indicate a difference in honest .et"een theists and nontheists,.ut does not resolve the pro.lem for the nontheist6 $n the pu.lic arena "here thePledge is customaril given, there is peer pressure to conform and ma lead toeffective coercion as @ustice ?enned notes in )ee v. ,eisman6 *artha &uss.aumdescri.es the histor of and rationale .ehind the la" adding <under (od= to thePledge #<:nder (od1= )he Pledge, Present and -utureGhttp1HH"""6la"6uchicago6eduHalumniHmaga'ineHfall288HundergodI%6 As a conse7uenceof the est >irginia State Board of Education vs. Barnett decision in 0F54 #.efore<under (od= "as added% one could not .e compelled to sa the Pledge6 $nclusion of<under (od= in the Pledge discriminates against all nontheistic vie"points, and itsapparent violation of the Esta.lishment Clause remains in hitherto unad;udicatedceremonial deism +im.o6

)his ceremonial deism +im.o status might have .een removed in the El rove #niied School District v. /e0do0 "hich, ho"ever, "as reversed on grounds ofstanding rather than 7uestions surrounding the Esta.lishment Clause6 &evertheless,some portions of a concurring opinion . Chief @ustice Rehn7uist are of interest1

&ot"ithstanding the voluntar nature of the School District polic, the Courtof Appeals, . a divided vote, held that the polic violates theEsta.lishment Clause of the -irst Amendment .ecause it <impermissi.l coercesa religious act6= /e0do0 v. #nited States Congress, 42 -6 4d 5, 5 #CAF2884%6 )o reach this result, the court relied primaril on our decision in)ee v. ,eisman , 989 :6 S6 9 #0FF2% 6 )hat case arose out of a graduationceremon for a pu.lic high school in Providence, Rhode $sland6 )he ceremon"as .egun "ith an invocation, and ended "ith a .enediction, given . a local

ra..i6 )he Court held that even though attendance at the ceremon "asvoluntar, students "ho o.;ected to the praers "ould nonetheless feelcoerced to attend and to stand during each praer6 But the Court throughoutits opinion referred to the praer as <an explicit religious exercise,= id6,at 9F, and <a formal religious exercise,= id6 , at 9F6

As the Court notes in its opinion, <the Pledge of Allegiance evolved as acommon pu.lic ackno"ledgment of the ideals that our flag sm.oli'es6 $tsrecitation is a patriotic exercise designed to foster national unit andpride in those principles6= Ante, at 26



$ do not .elieve that the phrase <under (od= in the Pledge converts itsrecital into a <religious exercise= of the sort descri.ed in +ee6 $nstead,it is a declaration of .elief in allegiance and loalt to the :nited Statesflag and the Repu.lic that it represents6 )he phrase <under (od= is in nosense a praer, nor an endorsement of an religion, .ut a simple recognitionof the fact noted in /6 R6 Rep6 &o6 0F4, at 21 <-rom the time of ourearliest histor our peoples and our institutions have reflected thetraditional concept that our &ation "as founded on a fundamental .elief in

(od6= Reciting the Pledge, or listening to others recite it, is a patrioticexercise, not a religious one participants promise fidelit to our flag andour &ation, not to an particular (od, faith, or church6#http1HH"""6supremecourt6govHopinionsH84pdfH82!0256pdf%

hen @ustice Rehn7uist states, <)he phrase 3under (od3 is in no sense a praer,

nor an endorsement of an religion, .ut a simple recognition of the fact noted in/6 R6 Rep6 &o6 0F4, at 21 3-rom the time of our earliest histor our peoples andour institutions have reflected the traditional concept that our &ation "as foundedon a fundamental .elief in (od63,= he is effectivel esta.lishing a preference formonotheism over deism, poltheism, pantheism, humanism, Shintoism, Buddhism,)aoism, /induism, etc6 )his is not simpl the application of, to use @usticeO3Conner3s phrase in this case, a heckler3s veto6 )hese listed, among others

unlisted, are serious religions, all of "hich are given su.ordinate status to the#primaril A.rahamic% theistic religions6

@ustice O3Conner returns, in Elk (rove, to her ceremonial deism theme .ela.orating four criteria that ma .e used to evaluate a possi.le violation of theEsta.lishment Clause1 0% $ts histor and u.i7uit #"ith fre7uent usage over theears .eing more ceremonial% 2% An a.sence of "orship or praer 4% An a.sence ofreference to particular religion #<666 no religious ackno"ledgment could claim to.e an instance of ceremonial deism if it explicitl favored one particularreligious .elief sstem over another6=% and 5% $t should have minimal religiouscontent6 Examining these criteria "ith regard to the Pledge raises pro.lems6 )heu.i7uit noted ma .e an instance of artificial inflation of num.ers resulting fromstate la"s mandating its recitation6 A more accurate indication of u.i7uit "ould.e the num.er o.tained after all legall mandated recitations "ere removed from

consideration6 *onotheism is a religious .elief sstem favored . the Pledge overalternative .elief sstems, such as poltheism, atheism, agnosticism, pantheism,among numerous others #previousl mentioned%6 -rom her 7uoted statement in theprevious paragraph, <under (od= in the Pledge fails the ceremonial deism test6

-or pu.lic ceremonial events the saing of a theistic Pledge gives thenontheist the option of either pu.licl declining participation or .eing untruthful. participating in the Pledge6 )he availa.ilit of these choices vanishes "hen<under (od= or <so help me (od= appears in other, more legall restrictive,circumstances6 Another potential candidate for the <Ceremonial Deism= categor isthis phrase, <so help me (od,= "hich is nota.l a.sent from the litanies ofexamples mentioned . @ustices Brennan and O3Conner6 $t is found at the end ofs"orn oaths of various tpes1 Oaths of office #except for President of the :nited

States, contrar to the implication . @ustice Clark3s opinion for the Court in!bington School District v. Schempp%, militar enlistment, grand and petit ;ur,trial "itness, loalt, allegiance, and, in one :6 S6 state #Ala.ama%, voterregistration6 @onathan Belcher reveals the unam.iguousl theistic nature of thisphrase . including its expanded version in -ootnote F of his 0FF2 la" revie"article, <Religion!Plus!Speech1 )he Constitutionalit of @uror Oaths andAffirmations :nder the -irst Amendment6= )he full version of <so help me (od= isgiven as, <So ma (od help me at the ;udgment da if $ speak true, .ut if $ speakfalse, then ma /e "ithdra" /is help from me6=#http1HHscholarship6la"6"m6eduH"mlrHvol45Hiss0H04% )his phrase seems to falloutside the legal fiction surrounding ceremonial deism6 :6 S6 federal and state



authorities must, therefore, provide a non!religious affirmation alternative uponre7uest #if not explicitl included% as a conse7uence of the :6 S6 Constitution,Article >$, and the -ree Exercise Clause of the -irst Amendment as extended to thestates through the -ourteenth Amendment6

Theonomy Signi6icance

$n addition to the tri.al deit concept and the ceremonial intermediar form,alread mentioned, there is an additional vie" of the Ethical Decalogue and itsmeaning, application, and significance6 )his is the vie" of theonom6 As stated inthe ikipedia article #-ootnote num.ers omitted%1

Theonomy, from theos #god% and nomos #la"% is the idea, espoused . ChristianReconstructionists that *osaic la" should .e o.served . modern societies6)heonomists re;ect the traditional Reformed .elief that the civil la"s of the*osaic +a" are no longer applica.le6

>arious theonomic authors have stated such goals as <the universaldevelopment of Bi.lical theocratic repu.lics=, exclusion of non!Christiansfrom voting and citi'enship, and the application of .i.lical la" . thestate6 :nder such a sstem of .i.lical la", homosexual acts, adulter,

"itchcraft, and .lasphem "ould .e punisha.le . death6 Propagation ofidolatr or <false religions= "ould .e illegal and could also .e punished .the death penalt6#http1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiH)heonom%

O.viousl, ceremonial deism is inapplica.le in the interpretation of la" fromthe standpoint of theonom6 Converting the :nited States into a .i.lical theocraticrepu.lic, there. making its la" trul .ased on the Bi.le, "ould seem to inevita.lre7uire a completel ne" Constitution6 As $ "ill indicate in the next section, theimplicit vie"s of those advocating placement of monuments listing the EthicalDecalogue are similar to those "ithin the theonomic movement6



Cha!ter 7 Biblical Consequences

/H&T &R( TH( 88*C&* C+-S(9U(-C(S +4 3+*&T-G P&RTCU*&R C+MM&-)M(-TS0

&!odictic and Casuistic *as

Scholars distinguish .et"een .i.lical apodictic la"s "hich are stated in the

form of divine commands #e.g.1 the )en Commandments% "ithout a correspondingdeclaration of penalt for violation and casuistic #or case% la"s stating the la"along "ith its corresponding penalt for violation6 #See Encclopedia Britannica1/e.raic la" """6.ritannica6com6%

An Example from the Ethical Decalogue

Each of the three sets of )en Commandments consists of ten apodictic la"s,ho"ever their interpretation and application depend upon associated corollarcasuistic statements of la"6 -or example, the commandment, <)hou shalt not kill,=raises 7uestions as to its generalit6 Does it prohi.it killing plants, or certainanimals or certain humansN ho is so restrictedN Apparentl not the Deit "hofamousl killed nearl all animals on earth, as "ell as all men, "omen, and

children except for &oah and seven of his relatives .ecause of an admitted designdefect in making man #(enesis 1!%6 People, as a result of .oth their limitedcapa.ilit and, also, additional casuistic restrictions are permitted to kill otherpeople in some circumstances and not in others6

$n order to clarif discussion a.out permissi.le and impermissi.le killing letme introduce, in addition to apodictic la"s and casuistic la"s, a third categor"hich $ "ill call casuistic application6 )his can .e illustrated . considering theapodictic commandment to not "ork on the sa..ath6 $n this case, not onl is theapodictic command stated in all three sets of )en Commandments #Exodus 281 also,Exodus 45120, and Deuteronom 9102 phrased and ;ustified differentl%, <Remem.erthe sa..ath da, to keep it hol,= .ut also the casuistic la" commandment, <Sixdas ma "ork .e done1 .ut in the seventh is the sa..ath of rest, hol to the +ORD1"hosoever doeth "ork in the sa..ath da, he shall surel .e put to death6= #Exodus

40109%6 $nterestingl, immediatel follo"ing this #Exodus 4010!0%, "e have someindication of the limited international #and possi.le tri.al% application of thiscommandment1

herefore the children of $srael shall keep the sa..ath, to o.serve thesa..ath throughout their generations for a perpetual covenant6

$t is a sign .et"een me and the children of $srael for ever1 for in six dasthe +ORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh da he rested, and "asrefreshed6

And he gave unto *oses, "hen he had made an end of communing "ith him onmount Sinai, t"o ta.les of testimon, ta.les of stone, "ritten "ith the

finger of (od6 #Exodus 4010!0%

)he follo"ing statements ma reinforce this vie"1

And *oses gathered all the congregation of the children of$srael together, and said unto them, )hese are the "ords "hichthe +ORD hath commanded, that e should do them6

Six das shall "ork .e done, .ut on the seventh da thereshall .e to ou an hol da, a sa..ath of rest to the +ORD1"hosoever doeth "ork therein shall .e put to death6



Me shall kindle no fire throughout our ha.itations upon thesa..ath da6 #Exodus 4910!4%

Casuistic Application

)he phrasing of the apodictive and, particularl, casuistic statements of thela" is consistent "ith the vie" that this commandment, and #possi.l% the other

nine commandments of the Ethical #and Ritual% Decalogue "ere part of the covenant.et"een the $sraelites and their tri.al deit Mah"eh6 )his interpretation maprovide some emotional relief to the millions of people in contemporar societ "ho"ork .et"een -rida and Saturda sundo"ns #unless the find themselves ruled . atheocratic government "hich takes these .i.lical commands seriousl and literall%6)he casuistic application of this commandment is revealed in the follo"ing account1

And "hile the children of $srael "ere in the "ilderness, the found a manthat gathered sticks on the sa..ath da6

And the that found him gathering sticks .rought him unto *oses and Aaron,and unto all the congregation6

And the put him in "ard, .ecause it "as not declared "hat should .e done tohim6

And the +ORD said unto *oses, )he man shall .e surel put to death1 all thecongregation shall stone him "ith stones "ithout the camp6

And all the congregation .rought him "ithout the camp, and stoned him "ithstones, and he died as the +ORD commanded *oses6 #&um.ers 09142!4%

)his illustration of the casuistic application of the apodictive la" re7uiring restand no "ork on the sa..ath and "ith the re7uirement of death to violators revealsthe unam.iguous penalt for its infraction vis-+-vis the $sraelites #at least%6 )hecommandment is not meaningful "ithout an understanding of its conse7uences6 Aperson in contemporar societ "ho maintains that "e should .e .ound #or ruled% .

the )en Commandments, usuall #$ suspect% in the una"areness of the presence ofthree different sets of )en Commandments, pro.a.l intends to have the EthicalDecalogue and its conse7uences appl as relevant toda and not .e limited to thecovenant .et"een Mah"eh and the $sraelites6

Other commandments and their penalties for violation

hat, then, are the full meanings of the remaining nine commandments as opposedto the monument!posting space!restricted statements "hich man people in the :nitedStates consider to .e appropriate for posting on pu.lic groundsN As a tpicalexample of the degree of acceptance of displas on pu.lic grounds, a (allup poll in2889 #after :6 S6 Supreme Court oral arguments, .ut .efore a decision% asked thefollo"ing 7uestion of respondents aged 0 and older1

Do ou think the Supreme Court shouldVor should notVallo" the )exas stategovernment to displa a monument to the )en CommandmentsN

Of the 92 American adults responding W said <should= and 20W said <should not6=#http1HH"""6gallup6comHpollH090Hamericans!thou!shalt!remove!ten!commandments6aspx%

Although not explicitl su.scri.ing to the theocratic #theonomic% dictates implied. the )en Commandments and their correlated conse7uences, a clear ma;orit seemsto favor a #current or historical% nominal theocrac6



+et us no" look at some of the other commandments and their correspondingpenalties for violation6 ith regard to the "orship of other gods, "e find thefollo"ing1 </e that sacrificeth unto an god, save unto the +ORD onl, he shall .eutterl destroed6= #Exodus 22128% And

$f th .rother, the son of th mother, or th son, or th daughter, or the "ife of th .osom, or th friend, "hich is as

thine o"n soul, entice thee secretl, saing, +et us go and serve other gods, "hich thou hast not kno"n, thou, nor th fathers

&amel, of the gods of the people "hich are round a.out ou, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth

)hou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him neither shall thine ee pit him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him1

But thou shalt surel kill him thine hand shall .e first upon

him to put him to death, and after"ards the hand of all the people6 #Deuteronom 041!F%,

and

$f there .e found among ou, "ithin an of th gates "hich the +ORD th (od giveth thee, man or "oman, that hath "rought "ickedness in the sight of the +ORD th (od, in transgressing his covenant,

And hath gone and served other gods, and "orshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or an of the host of heaven, "hich $ have not commanded

And it .e told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and en7uired diligentl, and, .ehold, it .e true, and the thing certain, that such a.omination is "rought in $srael1

)hen shalt thou .ring forth that man or that "oman, "hich have committed that "icked thing, unto th gates, even that man or that "oman, and shalt stone them "ith stones, till the die6

#Deuteronom 012!9%

/onoring one3s father and mother "as taken ver seriousl, not onl . itsinclusion as an apodictic commandment in the Ethical Decalogue, .ut also in termsof its casuistic application illustrated . the follo"ing1

And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall .e surelput to death6 #Exodus 20109%,and

And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surel .e put to death6 #Exodus 2010%,

and

-or ever one that curseth his father or his mother shall .e surel put to death1 he hath cursed his father or his mother



his .lood shall .e upon him6 #+eviticus 281F%

Even stu..ornness has the same conse7uence1

$f a man have a stu..orn and re.ellious son, "hich "ill not o.e the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, "hen the have chastened him, "ill not hearken unto them1

)hen shall his father and his mother la hold on him, and .ring him out unto the elders of his cit, and unto the gate of his place

And the shall sa unto the elders of his cit, )his our son is stu..orn and re.ellious, he "ill not o.e our voice he is a glutton, and a drunkard6

And all the men of his cit shall stone him "ith stones, that he die1 so shalt thou put evil a"a from among ou and all $srael shall hear, and fear6 #Deuteronom 2010!20%

)he passage of the Stu..orn Child la" in 05 . the *assachusetts Ba Colon, andits "ording appears as follo"s1

$f a man have a stu..orn or re.ellious son of sufficient ears andunderstanding #namel, at least sixteen ears of age% "hich "ill noto.e the voice of his -ather, or the voice of his *other, and that"hen the have chastened him "ill not harken unto them1 then shallhis -ather and *other .eing his natural parents, la hold on him and.ring him to the *agistrates assem.led in Court and testif unto them,that their son is stu..orn and re.ellious and "ill not o.e theirvoice and chastisement, .ut lives in sundr notorious crimes sucha son shall .e put to death6#http1HH"""6;stor6orgHdiscoverH086248H294F2N%

Su.se7uent passage of similar la"s in Connecticut #098%, Rhode $sland #0%, and&e" /ampshire #0F% indicates the influence of this commandment in a relativelstrong "a6

)he commandment, <)hou shalt not kill,= has so man exceptions that some morerecent translations of the Old )estament have changed the last "ord from kill tomurder #.ased, ho"ever, on the etmolog of the /e.re" "ord%6 e find </e thatkilleth an man shall surel .e put to death6= #+eviticus 2510 +eviticus F!45 formurder 7ualifications%6 $n addition to murder, violators of the commands "ithin theEthical Decalogue mentioned here, and also violators of numerous other commands notincluded "ithin the Decalogue re7uire the death penalt6 $n "ars there seems to .ea carte blanche authori'ation for killing as indicated . the follo"ing1

Of ever tri.e a thousand, throughout all the tri.es of $srael, shall e send to the "ar6

So there "ere delivered out of the thousands of $srael, a thousand of ever tri.e, t"elve thousand armed for "ar6

And *oses sent them to the "ar, a thousand of ever tri.e, them and Phinehas the son of Elea'ar the priest, to the "ar, "ith the hol instruments, and the trumpets to .lo" in his hand6



And the "arred against the *idianites, as the +ORD commanded *oses and the sle" all the males6

And the sle" the kings of *idian, .eside the rest of them that "ere slain namel, Evi, and Rekem, and ur, and /ur, and Re.a, five kings of *idian1 Balaam also the son of Beor the sle" "ith the s"ord6

And the children of $srael took all the "omen of *idian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods6

#&um.ers 4015!F%,

and

&o" therefore kill ever male among the little ones, and kill ever "oman that hath kno"n man . ling "ith him6

But all the "omen children, that have not kno"n a man . ling "ith him, keep alive for ourselves6 #&um.ers 401 0!0%

)he preceding 7uotations are effectivel summari'ed and explained "ith respect tothe covenant .et"een Mah"eh and the $sraelites as follo"s1

hen the +ORD th (od shall .ring thee into the land "hither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out man nations .efore thee, the /ittites, and the (irgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Peri''ites, and the /ivites, and the @e.usites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou

And "hen the +ORD th (od shall deliver them .efore thee thou shalt smite them, and utterl destro them thou shalt make no covenant "ith them, nor she" merc unto them1

&either shalt thou make marriages "ith them th daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto th son6

-or the "ill turn a"a th son from follo"ing me, that the ma serve other gods1 so "ill the anger of the +ORD .e kindled against ou, and destro thee suddenl6

But thus shall e deal "ith them e shall destro their altars, and .reak do"n their images, and cut do"n their groves, and .urn their graven images "ith fire6

-or thou art an hol people unto the +ORD th (od1 the +ORD th (od hath chosen thee to .e a special people unto himself, a.ove all people that are upon the face of the earth6

)he +ORD did not set his love upon ou, nor choose ou, .ecause e "ere more in num.er than an people for e "ere the fe"est of all people1

But .ecause the +ORD loved ou, and .ecause he "ould keep the oath "hich he had s"orn unto our fathers, hath the +ORD .rought ou out "ith a might hand, and redeemed ou out of



the house of .ondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egpt6 #Deuteronom 10!%

Curiousl, a some"hat parallel account of genocide commissioned . Mah"ehappears in 0 Samuel 096 Mah"eh told Saul, <&o" go and smite Amalek, and utterldestro all that the have, and spare them not .ut sla .oth man and "oman, infantand suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass6= #0 Samuel 0914%6 As the rest of thechapter indicates, Saul did not compl "ith the command completel, sparing

?enites, Agag, the king of the Amalekites, and <666the .est of the sheep, and ofthe oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lam.s, and all that "as good, and "ould notutterl destro them1 .ut everthing that "as vile and refuse, that the destroedutterl6= #0 Samuel 091F%6 Despite the onslaught of Saul3s arm of 208,888, some ofthe Amalekites must have survived, since the encountered David in an invasionlater6 #0 Samuel 4810%6 After .eing reminded that Saul had not complied "ith theinstructions of Mah"eh, Samuel <666 he"ed Agag in pieces .efore the +ORD in(ilgal6= #0 Samuel 09144%6 At the end of the chapter, "e read that <666 the +ORDrepented that he had made Saul king over $srael6= #0 Samuel 09149%

Adulter occurred "hen, and onl "hen, a man had intercourse "ith a "omanmarried to someone else6 A married man, such as Solomon "ith his 488 concu.ines#0 ?ings 0010!4% "as not guilt of adulter involving them, nor "ith an of his 88

"ives6 A tpe of polgam #polgn% in "hich a man has more than one "ife "astolerated and even accounted for in inheritance la" for sons of separate "ives#Deuteronom 20109!0%6 Some of the more prominent polgamists of the Old )estament"ere *oses #Exodus 2120 and &um.ers 0210%, @aco. #(enesis 2F10!49%, David#0 Chronicles 410!9%, and Solomon6

Adulter, as defined a.ove, is similarl harshl penali'ed1

And the man that committeth adulter "ith another man3s "ife, even he that committeth adulter "ith his neigh.our3s "ife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surel .e put to death6

And the man that lieth "ith his father3s "ife hath uncovered his father3s nakedness1 .oth of them shall surel .e put to

death their .lood shall .e upon them6

And if a man lie "ith his daughter in la", .oth of them shall surel .e put to death1 the have "rought confusion their .lood shall .e upon them6 #+eviticus 28108!02%

Additionall, it might .e noted that @esus, in response to 7uestions from somePharisees a.out adulter, replied1

And $ sa unto ou, hosoever shall put a"a his "ife, except it .e for fornication, and shall marr another, committeth adulter1 and "hoso marrieth her "hich is put a"a doth commit adulter6 #*atthe" 0F1F%

O.serving that this is, according to )rinitarians #and as stated in the &iceneCreed G429 CE versionI%, <ver (od of ver (od= speaking, the range of individualsaffected . this .ehavior and conse7uent death penalt under *osaic la" isexpanded6

Stealing and selling a person is su.;ect to the death penalt #Exodus 2010 andDeuteronom 251%6 Other instances of stealing #e.g.1 oxen, etc6% have lesserpenalties6 Bearing false "itness and coveting are not specificall descri.ed interms of appropriate penalties6



C+-C*US+- T+ P&RT

$n this essa $ have limited mself to those actions re7uiring the death penaltas a result of violation of one or more of certain commandments contained "ithinthe Ethical Decalogue6 )his, . no means, limits the num.er of infractions for"hich the penalt of death is imposed6 A more extensive listing is provided inikipedia #http1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiH+istJofJcapitalJcrimesJinJtheJ)orah%6

$ hope that "hat $ have "ritten is .iased . some kno"ledge of "hat is clearlstated in the ?ing @ames >ersion of the Bi.le #and in other translations as "ell%in contrast to the statements and advocacies of others #particularl politicians%,"ho ma provide, admittedl, a some"hat more un.iased vie", .ut one un.iased .kno"ledge6 )his essa provides information, readil availa.le, "hich must .econfronted in order for discussions a.out the )en Commandments to .e takenseriousl6

)here is, of course, the possi.ilit that those advocating the displa andfollo"ing of the )en Commandments ma .e una"are of the deadl re7uirements suchadvocac implies6 $t has .een noted that religious kno"ledge generall, and.i.lical kno"ledge in particular, ma .e charita.l descri.ed as modest6 Al.ert*ohler, in his tenure as President of the Southern Baptist )heological Seminar,

descri.ed the religious kno"ledge of Americans as a scandal, .ased on the BarnaResearch (roup finding #among others he lists% that 8 percent of Americans cannotname five of the )en Commandments6 #http1HH"""6christianit6comHprintH028F5H%

$f ou accept the vie" that 0% the Bi.le #?@> among others% is literall trueand 2% that the )en Commandments #Ethical Decalogue% must .e follo"ed as relevantin their entiret and conse7uences as unam.iguousl stated, then ou are advocatinga theocrac under "hich people "ho "orship other gods, "ork on Saturda, strike orcurse a parent, commit adulter #even having sexual intercourse "ith a divorcedperson to "hom one is no" married%, or kidnapping and selling a person must .ekilled6 As man .elievers state in descri.ing the )en Commandments, these are notthe ten suggestionsVand the are not6 &either are the mandated conse7uences6



P&RT : R(*G+US )(M+GR&PHCS &-) )SCRM-&T+-

Cha!ter % Religious Demographics

Religious Ma;orities and Minorities in the /orld

Data for religious adherence to recogni'ed religions are availa.le from several

sources6 )he data for some religions for all countries are listed in )a.le 06

S(*(CT() /+R*) R(*G+US GR+UP

Religious !dherents Population Percentage 234546

Christians #$ncludes Roman 4069 Catholic, Orthodox, All Protestant, and others%

*uslims #Sunni, Shi3i, and 2462 others%

@e"s #Orthodox6 Conservative, 862 and Reform%

:naffiliated #Agnostics, 064 Atheists, other unaffiliated%

Others #Buddhists, /indus, Sikhs, 26 iccans, Pagans, etc6%

Tale $6 orld religions . percentage of adherents6 Adapted from1 http1HH"""6pe"forum6orgH2802H02H0Hglo.al!religious!landscape!execH6

Religious Ma;orities and Minorities in the United States

Similar data are availa.le for the :nited States and are given in )a.le 21

S(*(CT() U-T() ST&T(S R(*G+US GR+UP

Religious !dherents Population Percentage 234476

Christians #$ncludes Roman 65 Catholic, Orthodox, All Protestant, and others%

*uslims #Sunni, Shi3i, and 86 others%

@e"s #Orthodox6 Conservative, 06 and Reform%

:naffiliated #Agnostics, 060 Atheists, other unaffiliated%

Others #Buddhists, /indus, Sikhs, 265 iccans, Pagans, etc6%



Tale "6 :6 S6 religions . percentage of adherents6 Adapted from1 http1HH"""6pe"forum6orgH288H82H80Hu!s!religious!landscape!surve!

religious!affiliationH6

$n vie"ing )a.les 0 and 2 it is evident that there are differences inproportional distri.utions of adherents .et"een the :nited States and the "orld6)he :nited States is proportionatel much more Christian in an actuarial sense "ith

a conse7uent possi.ilit of more easil dominating everda life6 )his possi.ilitma lead to the development of discrimination resulting in in!group favoritism forthe Christian a.solute ma;orit and out!group .ias directed against those ofminorit status6 Counteracting the effects of this is the :6 S Constitution "ithits church!state separation re7uirements6



Cha!ter < Discrimination and Psychological Distance

)iscrimination

)evelo!ment o6 )iscrimination and Conse=uences

Blue Ees!Bro"n Ees #$ngroup vs. Outgroup%

Discrimination is the responding differentl . an individual or group todifferent stimuli6 hen stimulus differences are large discrimination is moreeasil accomplished6 As the difference .et"een stimuli diminishes, it .ecomes moredifficult to relia.l discriminate .et"een them6 hen there are large differencesin phsical stimulus characteristics .et"een groups of people, such as skin color,discrimination is eas and conse7uent favoritism, or negative .ias, ma occur6

Seemingl innocuous stimuli can lead to ver apparent discrimination6 )he BlueEes!Bro"n Ees demonstration . the third!grade teacher @ane Elliott#http1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiH@aneJElliott% suggests that separating children onthe .asis of ee color and treating one group favora.l and the other groupunfavora.l 7uickl resulted in dominant antagonism .et"een individuals of the

favored group directed against those having the alternate ee color6 Specificall,.lue!eed children "ere identified as smarter and .etter than .ro"n!eed childrenthe received five more minutes of recess the "ere to go to lunch ahead of the.ro"n!eed children the could have seconds at lunch and the could use the "aterfountain "hile .ro"n!eed children "ere re7uired to use cups6 Bro"n!eed children"ere re7uired to "ear a collar so that the could .e identified at a distance6Bro"n!eed children "ere not to pla "ith .lue!eed children on the plaground6 Allof this occurred on the first da, during "hich a gradual assumption of dominant#for .lue!eed children% and su.missive #for .ro"n!eed children% roles developed6On the second da .ro"n!eed children .ecame dominant and all of the changes "erereversed "ith a resulting reversal in role .ehaviors6

Psychological )istance

B introducing ee color as a .asis for discrimination, Elliott took a group ofchildren and generated "hat might .e termed an in!group #.lue ees% vs. anout!group #.ro"n ees% distinction6 Pschological distance is a concept used .man in a variet of "as to indicate spatial, cognitive, emotional, or otherseparation .et"een t"o #or more% individuals or groups6 As a metric it exists#usuall at .est% on an ordinal scale #in "hich one can identif one component asgreater than or less than .ut not the magnitude of the difference% and ma have inman cases onl nominal scale properties #in "hich one names different components.ut cannot determine order or difference magnitude%6 $ "ill use the concept ofpschological distance here, loosel, as if it can .e considered to have ordinalscale properties6 )his is done in order to carr out some of the follo"ing thoughtexperiments6

Elliott started "ith a separation of a slightl heterogeneous group ofthird!grade school children into t"o separate groups, each .eing less heterogeneous#i.e., more homogeneous% .ecause of ee color6 B vocall praising and providingre"ards to mem.ers of one group #.lue ees% and disparaging and punishing mem.ersof the other group #.ro"n ees%, she "as a.le to generate mutual animosit .et"eenthe t"o groups "ithin a da, "ith the .lue!eed children adopting a dominant roleand the .ro"n!eed children a su.missive role6 -rom the preceding paragraph, "emight sa that the pschological distance .et"een .lue!eed children and .ro"n!eedchildren increased "ith the separation into t"o groups6 B re7uiring the .ro"n!eedchildren to "ear a collar in order that the could .e identified more clearl at adistance, the pschological distance "as further increased6



Discrimination and Pschological Distance in &a'i (erman

Another illustration of the development of pschological distance .et"een adominant ma;orit and a some"hat identifia.le minorit occurred in (erman prior toorld ar $$ "ith the arrival to po"er of the &ationalso'ialistische DeutscheAr.eiterpartei #&SDAP% under the leadership of Adolf /itler in 0F446 A successionof directives and la"s .ecame instituted "hich impacted negativel on the mem.ers

of the @e"ish minorit in (erman #and, later, occupied lands%6 During the decadefollo"ing the start of 0F44, the follo"ing events occurred #among others, asexcerpted from the Deutsches /istorisches *useum "e.site%1

06 Sstematic .ocotts . other (ermans of @e"ish .usinesses, phsicians, and la"ers occurred6 #0F44%

26 Burning of .ooks "ritten . opposition and @e"ish authors universit li.raries "ere <cleansed6= #0F44%

46 (erman3s civil registrar3s offices "ere for.idden to conclude marriages .et"een @e"s and non!@e"s6 #0F49%

56 Sales of periodicals for @e"s "ere for.idden6 #0F49%

96 &urem.erg la"s #&rn.erg (eset'e% eliminated (erman citi'enship for@e"s and outla"ed intermarriage .et"een @e"s and those of (erman.lood6 #0F49%

6 /ealth certificates from @e"ish phsicians "ere officiall invalid6 #0F4%

6 Street .enches in Berlin "ere installed <Onl for Arans6= #0F4%

6 All @e"ish phsicians lost their licenses as certified phsicians6 #0F4%

F6 @e"ish passports "ere stamped "ith a large <@6= #0F4%

086 ?ristallnacht #Reichskristallnacht% "as a ma;or pogrom of destruction andmurder . mem.ers of the Sturma.teilung #SA% and Schut'staffel #SS%against @e"s in all of (erman "ith over 29,888 deported to concentrationcamps and countless snagogues, cemeteries, and @e"ish .usinessesdestroed6 #0F4%

006 @e"s, over the age of six, "ere re7uired to "ear a ello" star of David #or "hite .adge% containing the "ord <@ude= #or local language e7uivalent% in all of (erman and occupied lands6 #0F50%

026 @e"ish emigration from the (erman Reich .ecame for.idden6 #0F50%

046 @e"s "ere prohi.ited from using pu.lic telephones6 #0F50%

056 @e"s in the (erman Reich "ere prohi.ited from using pu.lic transportation6 #0F52%

096 Although man @e"s "ere murdered in other "as prior to this, the first mass gassing of 0,988 @e"s occurred at Ausch"it'!Birkenau6 #0F52% #http1HH"""6dhm6deHlemoH;ahreschronikH%

Over the course of the decade, this sampling of re7uirements reveals aprogressive and cumulative separation in distance #and punishment severit% .et"eenthe ma;orit (erman population and minorit @e"ish population6 As is no" generall



kno"n, the tragic conse7uences of this evolved into the /olocaust6

)he *ilgram Experiments

Stanle *ilgram, a social pschologist at Male :niversit, "as #as man othershave .een% perplexed . ho" seemingl normal, civili'ed, and cultivated peoplecould do some of the things that "ere relia.l reported to have occurred in &a'i(erman6 /e proceeded to investigate this experimentall in a series of

investigations that .ecame famous #and infamous% as the *ilgram experiments ino.edience6 Although ikipedia provides a good summar#https1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH*ilgramJexperiment%, the follo"ing description of, anddetails a.out, his initial experiment "ith 58 su.;ects is from his .ook, 8bedience to !uthority& !n E(perimental 9ie0 #&e" Mork1 /arper [ Ro", 0F5%6 *uch, .ut notall, of "hat follo"s is availa.le in the ikipedia article and man other sourceson the $nternet6

-or the .asic #initial% experiment, 58 male adults #aged 28 to 98% "ho "ere nothigh school or college students "ere recruited from the &e" /aven #Connecticut%communit through an announcement in the local ne"spaper to participate in aninvestigation for a <stud of memor6= As each su.;ect arrived at his appointedtime, he "as paid \5698 and, then, given a short lecture a.out "hat little "as

kno"n a.out the effect of punishment on memor6 A second su.;ect, "ho "as a58!ear!old accountant and mem.er of the experimental team #the accomplice%,arrived , and the experiment started6 A <rigged= election "as done to decide "hichof the t"o "ould .ecome the <teacher= #the <punishing shock= deliverer% and "hich"ould .e the <learner= #the recipient of administered shocks%6 )he <election= "asdesigned so that the accomplice al"as .ecame the learner6 As explained to .oth,the purpose of the experiment "as to find out "hat influence punishment had onlearning and memor6

)he teacher is, then, told that he is to deliver one "ord of a list of pairedassociate "ords #the list having previousl .een learned . the learner% to thelearner located, during the testing phase of the experiment, in a room separatedfrom the room containing the teacher and experimenter6 -or each "ord on the listthe learner is to respond to one of four alternative ans"ers indicating his recall

of the correct paired associate "ord . operating one of four s"itches, "hichturned on one of four num.ered lamp 7uadrants on a .ox on top of the shock machinein front of the teacher6 Each experimental session, therefore, involved threepeople1 the experimenter and teacher in one room and the learner in a separateroom6

$n addition to the personnel there "as a prominent #and almost intimidating%shock .ox, consisting #on the front panel% of a ro" of 48 lever s"itches, "ith eachs"itch located .elo" a lamp6 :nder the lever s"itches "ere num.ers indicatingvoltages in 09!>olt increments #from left to right% starting "ith 09 >olts andending "ith 598 >olts6 Additionall, groups of s"itches "ere successivel la.eled#from left to right% as <S+$(/) S/OC?,= <*ODERA)E S/OC?,= <S)RO&( S/OC?,= <>ERMS)RO&( S/OC?,= <$&)E&SE S/OC?,= <EL)RE*E $&)E&S$)M S/OC?,= DA&(ER1 SE>ERE S/OC?,=

and the last t"o s"itches "ere given the la.el, <L L L6= A.ove the lamps #"hichcame on "hen a lever s"itch "as operated% "ere some additional <controls= and apanel meter indicating >oltage #8!988%6 At the top left of the unit "as a la.elengraved . <precision industrial engravers= reading1

SH+CE G(-(R&T+R, T2P( F*8

)2S+- -STRUM(-T C+MP&-2

/&*TH&M, M&SS.

+UTPUT $% 3+*TS 7%# 3+*TS

An image search of the *ilgram shock machine "ill provide numerous photographs of



the device6 During the experiment operation of a s"itch resulted in the lamp a.oveit .riefl turning on, a .u''ing sound, a .lue light la.eled <>oltage Energi'er=flashing, and the panel meter needle s"inging to the right6 At the start of eachexperimental session "ith a ne" su.;ect #teacher%, he "as administered a sample 59!>olt shock on the "rist from a .atter included "ithin the generator6 )his "as theonl actual shock given to anone during the experiment6 )he <Shock (enerator= "asdesigned to provide a sem.lance of a real, functioning, shocking deviceVand onlthat6 Post!experimental de.riefing indicated that it "as apparentl completel

effective in this electrical mas7uerade6

)he teacher #follo"ing a practice run% "as instructed to administer "ords and,for each response that "as incorrect, deliver a shock to the learner, "ho "assecurel strapped into a chair #<to prevent excessive movement=% "ith an armattached "ith electrode paste #<to avoid .listers and .urns=% to an electrode6 Eachsuccessive response error . the learner "as to .e punished . the next shocklevel6 )he learner3s response protocol "as programmed to make a sufficient num.erof errors so that, if the teacher follo"ed instructions, all of the shock levels#including 598!>olts% "ould necessaril .e administered6

*ilgram3s fundamental interest "as in the num.er of shocks teachers "ouldadminister, given these constraints plus some that developed during the

experimental session6 At the 488!>olt level, in addition to the incorrect ans"er,the learner pounded on the "all in response to the <shock= in a "a that could .eheard . the teacher6 -ollo"ing this trial no more ans"ers "ere given6 hen 7ueriedthe experimenter calml stated that a non!response #after a 9!08 second dela% "asto .e considered an incorrect response6 -ollo"ing the 409!>olt shock no poundingand no ans"ers occurred #i.e., there "as no response at all%6

$f a teacher stopped delivering shocks follo"ing an incorrect ans"er, there "erespecified <Prods= delivered . the experimenter to encourage continuation6 )hese"ere arranged in the follo"ing operational se7uence1

Prod 01 Please continue, or, Please go on6Prod 21 )he experiment re7uires that ou continue6Prod 41 $t is a.solutel essential that ou continue6

Prod 51 Mou have no other choice, ou must go on6

$f there "as refusal . the su.;ect to continue after Prod 5, the experiment "asterminated, and de.riefing follo"ed6

/o" man "ould continue to 598 >oltsN Alternativel, ho" "ould teachers respondunder the circumstances descri.ed a.ove for the initial experimentN *ilgram gavelectures to various groups of individuals on the topic of o.edience to authoritand used the lecture occasion to provide information a.out expectations regardingthe likel results6 Specificall1

)he experiment is descri.ed in detail "ithout, ho"ever, disclosingthe results in an "a6 )he audience is provided "ith a schematic

diagram of the shock generator, sho"ing ver.al and voltage designations6Each respondent is asked to reflect on the experiment, then privatelto record ho" he himself "ould perform in it6 Predictions "ere made .three groups1 pschiatrists, college students, and an audience ofmiddle!class adults of various occupations6 #S6 *ilgram1 8bedience

to !uthority , pp6 2 f6%6

Results of predictions #as presented in )a.le 0 in 8bedience to !uthority , p6 2F%are com.ined and presented in m $llustration 26



$llustration 26 A graphic indication of the difference .et"een predicted

experimental results . three groups of people and actual findings in theinitial investigation6 )he panel at the right sho"s the graphic sm.olfor pschiatrists #& K 4F%, College Students #& K 40%, *iddle!classAdults #& K 58%, and Actual Results #& K 58%6 GData are from )a.le 0 in8bedience to !uthority , p6 2FI

$llustration 2 sho"s clearl at least t"o things6 $t reveals the similarit inpredicted experimental results for three populations of individuals self descri.ingho" the perceive "hat the "ould do given the experimental circumstances, and itsho"s a dramatic difference .et"een predicted and actual results6 )his differencema .e a manifestation of a phenomenon called . social pschologists thefundamental attri.ution error #-AE%6 )his error consists of the overestimation ofthe perceived role #or influence% of dispositional #internal% characteristics of

the individual and an underestimation of situational #external% factors6 :suall,the -AE applies to the accounting for the .ehavior of other people, .ut, in thiscase, it "ould account for the future .ehavior of a person himself prior to theconfluence of situational factors descri.ed in the narrative6

)he experiment descri.ed #and la.eled the Remote -eed.ack condition% "as thefirst in a series of sstematic replications #repeated versions of the initialexperiment, .ut "ith one or more descri.ed variations in procedure%6 $n laterexperiments *ilgram successivel arranged for >oice -eed.ack #same as Remote-eed.ack, .ut "ith vocal protests%, then positioned the learner in the same room#Proximit% "ith a 069!foot separation, and a fourth condition #)ouch!Proximit%,"hich "as the same as Proximit .ut "ith the teacher .eing re7uired to force thelearner3s hand do"n on a shock plate #if the learner did not voluntaril do so%6-rom )a.le 2 #8bedience to !uthority , p6 49% "e see the follo"ing percentages given

for the corresponding conditions1

(!erimental - Percent &dministering

Condition 7%#13olt ShocB

Remote 58 968 W >oice!-eed.ack 58 269 W

Proximit 58 5868 W )ouch!Proximit 58 4868 W

:sing our ordinal scale and loosel defined concept of pschological distance,



"e ma suppose that the order,

Remote 3oice14eedacB Proimity Touch14eedacB

#*aximum!!!Pschological Distance!!!*inimum%

represents varing degrees of monotonicall decreasing pschological distance "itha corresponding monotonicall declining magnitude of apparent shock severit .eingapplied6

Elliott used a monotonicall increasing pschological distance from .lue!ees,

8lue1(yes I 8ron1(yes I Collar1/earing

#*inimum!!Pschological Distance!!*aximum%

se7uence to generate a pschological distance separation .et"een groups, .ut"ithout a standard 7uantitative measure of conse7uences #she provided examples ofanecdotes indicating reactions of the Bro"n!Eed children%6 )he distance .et"een.lue!ees and .ro"n!ees is interpreted as less than that for .lue!ees andcollar!"earing children6

hen looking at the successive re7uirements imposed on the @e"ish minorit in

(erman from 0F44!0F52, it appears #given their cumulative effect% each ne"re7uirement increased the pschological distance #on average% .et"een the (ermanma;orit and @e"ish minorit6 Again, there is no standard measure of theconse7uences, although it is o.vious that anecdotal instances over the decade "ouldreveal increasingl severe treatment of the @e"s6

)he Stockholm and +ima Sndromes

)he Stockholm sndrome #or capture!.onding sndrome% is a name given to thesome"hat unexpected .ehavior in hostage situations in "hich the hostages #singl orcollectivel% adopt some or all of the attitudes or goals of their captors6 )hema oppose or refuse rescue, decline participation in prosecution, and actuallsupport their captors after the hostage event is over6 )he hostage ma identif orsmpathi'e "ith his or her captor6 )he +ima sndrome is the reverse #opposite%

situation in "hich the captor identifies or smpathi'es "ith the hostage6

)he Stockholm sndrome derives its name from a prolonged #0F4% .ank ro..er inStockholm, S"eden in "hich four hostages shared a .ank vault "ith t"o captors foralmost six das6 During this period small acts of kindness . the captors directedto"ard the hostages and fear of "hat the police might do resulted in the hostages.eing critical of the police during the event6 Su.se7uentl, the hostages aided thelegal defense of the captors6 Analsis of this occurrence, and a fe" other similarhostage situations, indicates that, for the Stockholm sndrome to develop, severalcomponent circumstances seem to .e re7uired1 these include extensive interaction.et"een hostage#s% and captor#s% in a non!a.usive and non threatening "a, and thepassage of time during "hich this interaction can occur6

)he +ima sndrome is the opposite of the Stockholm in that, instead of thehostages modifing their attitudes to"ards captors, the captors .ecome more mello"in attitudes and treatment of hostages6 )he name derives from an a.duction #in0FF% . mem.ers of the )]pac Amaro Revolutionar *ovement of hundreds of peopleattending a part at the @apanese Em.ass in +ima, Peru6 *ost of the hostages "erereleased "ithin a fe" hours #reportedl for compassionate reasons%, .ut someremained hostage for four months6

Both Stockholm and +ima sndromes ma not occur as fre7uentl as popularliterature #and movies% ma indicate6 (6 D"ane -uselier, a pschologist "ith the-B$ speciali'ing in hostage situations, reveals that a search of the -B$ data.ase



indicates onl a.out percent of hostages sho" signs of the Stockholm sndrome#http1HH"""6au6milHauHa"cHa"cgateHf.iHstockholmJsndrome6pdf%6 )he +ima sndromeseems to .e mentioned less in popular literature6 $n either case, it seems thathostage survival is related to minimi'ing the captor!hostage pschological distancethrough getting ac7uainted "ith the captor and gaining appreciation of the captor3sattitudes and interests, "hich re7uires time to develop6 A short!duration hostagesituation precludes the reduction of pschological distance and ma, conse7uentl,end violentl6



Cha!ter > Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive )issonance and Psychological )istance

A foolish consistenc is the ho.go.lin of little minds,adored . little statesmen and philosophers and divines6

!!Ralph aldo Emerson

ith or "ithout religion, good people can .ehave "elland .ad people can do evil .ut for good people to doevilVthat takes religion6

!!Steven ein.erg

here ignorance is .liss, 3tis foll to .e "ise6!!)homas (ra

)he 7uotations listed a.ove suggest several features of cognitive dissonance6 At

times one ma .e una.le to achieve complete consistenc among one3s attitudes andmemories of the past6 $n addition to selectivel forgetting unpleasant memories,Emerson seems to indicate that one directl confront such inconsistencies and not

excessivel "orr a.out the dissonance6 $n the case of Christians "ho killapostates or heretics or $slamists "ho similarl kill apostates or heretics, thekilling is done in the .elief #. the killer% that it is religiousl ;ustified,there. reducing dissonance that ma occur .ecause of the action6 At times,cognitive dissonance ma .e prevented from developing as in the possi.le artificialignorance of residents near &a'i extermination camps, "ho denied kno"ledge ofevents happening there6

A common factor in the Elliott #Blue Ees!Bro"n Ees% demonstration, &a'i(erman3s succession of re7uirements, *ilgram3s o.edience studies, and theStockholm and +ima sndrome conse7uences seems to .e a varing degree ofpschological distance .et"een dominant and non!dominant individuals6 )hispschological!distance variation seems to occur some"hat automaticall and#although not evident in Elliott3s demonstration% seems to .e related to the

protection of the non!dominant individual or group6 $ncreasing the pschologicaldistance is associated "ith undesira.le conse7uences for the non!dominant #orhostage% individuals, and decreasing the pschological distance is associated "iththe opposite #protective% effect6 )he theor of cognitive dissonance ma provide arationale for this apparent phenomenon#http1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiHCognitiveJdissonance%6

As an example of the application of cognitive dissonance theor, consider thecase of an person filing an income tax return in "hich some taxa.le income isintentionall omitted in order to reduce the amount of o"ed tax6 )his person has aself!perception of .eing morall honest, .ut the immediate a"areness of thisdishonest generates an unpleasant cognitive tension6 )he person ma think ofvarious "as to account for the inconsistent cognitions in order to reduce the

dissonance6 /e or she ma think, =Ever.od does it, so "h not me6= Or <$ overpaidlast ear, so it averages out6= B means of <creative finance calculations= #orsloppiness% one ma forget to include the income6 )he person ma ultimatel decideto go ahead and include the unreported income6 Except for primar pschopaths #"homa not experience dissonance at all%, these responses represent various "as ofreducing dissonance "ith its conse7uent reinforcing #re"arding% effects6

People ma have social, religious, or political .eliefs that, upon reflection,ma generate cognitive dissonance .ecause the reveal inconsistent .eliefs6 $t,then, .ecomes a task to reduce the dissonance "hich ma have increasingl .ecomeunpleasant6 Several means are used to accomplish the reduction1



06 One ma consider the perceived inconsistenc to .e a conse7uence of misperception of one of the .eliefs6

26 )he significance of the conflict ma .e reconsidered"ith its apparent importance reduced in magnitude6

46 One ma activel or passivel ignore one of the .eliefs6

56 Re;ection of one #or more% dissonant .eliefs ma reduce or eliminate tension6

96 A dissonance!generating .ehavior ma .e rationali'ed . saing or thinking that one is onl follo"ing orders "ith a conse7uent reduction in perceived responsi.ilit6 )he order ma originate

from some governmental or religious authorit6

hen Prophec -ails

A classic stud of cognitive dissonance "as descri.ed . +eon -estinger, /enr6 Riecken, and Stanle Schachter in their .ook, ,hen Prophecy :ails #+ondon1

Pinter [ *artin, 288%6 )he prophec alluded to "as that a catastrophic flood "ouldoccur on Decem.er 20 according to mem.ers of a group of .elievers6 Escape from thisflood "ould .e provided through transportation . fling saucers, "hich "ouldarrive immediatel .efore the catastrophe6 As it turned out, neither the arrival offling saucers nor the flood catastrophe occurred6 -estinger, et al6, and their<o.servers= had infiltrated the group for months prior to #and after% Decem.er 20and o.served the progress of .eliefs .efore the scheduled catastrophe and after itsnon!occurrence6 Contrar to expectations, some refused to a.andon their fundamental.elief in the imminence of the anticipated catastrophe and rescue6 )he "ereconfronted "ith, on the one hand, a strong .elief that the flood "ould occur andfrom "hich the "ould escape via fling saucers and, on the other hand, neither theflood nor fling saucers materiali'ed6 )his produced, as theori'ed . -estinger andhis colleagues, an unpleasant state of cognitive dissonance6 >arious methods ofdissonance reduction "ere emploed . mem.ers of the group6 )hese included changing

their .elief a.out the exact date of occurrence, suggesting that other eventselse"here #e.g.1 earth7uakes% "ere, nevertheless, indications of the truth of their.elief sstem, and elimination of one or more of their original .eliefs6 Althoughsome #particularl those "ho "ere geographicall separated from other .elievers%lost their .elief in the predicted catastrophe, others did not6 Some of thedissonance reduction changes "ere tentative, onl to .e exchanged for others astime passed6

&e" )estament Eschatolog #or hen Bi.lical Prophec -ails%

)here seems to .e an interesting .i.lical parallel to this account descri.eda.ove, .ut in the &e" )estament6 )he "aiting, "atching, and preparing for the endof the "orld has a similar #in its apocalpticism% set of circumstances #.ut

"ithout a flood% in the &e" )estament snoptic apocalpse #*atthe" 25, *ark 04,+uke 20% in "hich @esus as the <Son of man= #*atthe" 0104% descri.es eventssurrounding his imminent return #Second Coming or Parousia%6 )he Son of man #aphrase occurring 4 times in the canonical &e" )estament, mostl in the snopticgospels% has the po"er to forgive sins #*atthe" F1 *ark 2108 +uke 9125%, is the+ord of the sa..ath da #*atthe" 021 *ark 212 +uke 19%, "ill come <in theclouds of heaven "ith po"er and great glor= #*atthe" 25148 *ark 0412 Cf6 Daniel104%, and <the sun shall .e darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, GaIndthe stars of heaven shall fall= #*ark 04125!29%6 Although there is an upper limitto the duration . the end of "hich these #and other% events "ill occur, theprecise time is unkno"n #*atthe" 29104 *ark 04142 +uke 02158%6



)he upper limit is indicated in the follo"ing statements reportedl made .@esus1

But "hen the persecute ou in this cit, flee e into another1 for veril $ sa unto ou, Me shall not have gone over the cities of $srael, till the Son of man .e come6

#*atthe" 08124%

>eril $ sa unto ou, )here .e some standing here, "hich

shall not taste of death, till the see the Son of man coming in his kingdom6 #*atthe" 012%

>eril $ sa unto ou, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things .e done6 #*ark 04148 Cf6 +uke 20142%

But $ tell ou of a truth, there .e some standing here, "hich shall not taste of death, till the see the kingdom of (od6 #+uke F12%

)hese events "ere predicted to occur . @esus, and the evidentl did not6 )he

nonoccurrence presuma.l generated a certain amount of cognitive dissonance on thepart of the earl follo"ers of @esus and those in the churches later6 According tocognitive dissonance theor, this "ould result in unpleasant dissonance needingreduction6 Some of the "as this reduction is achieved are the follo"ing1

06 )he Apostles got it "rong and taught their version6

26 @esus activel misled his follo"ers6

46 <(enerations= meant a much longer time span6

56 )his <generation= means the @e"ish race6

96 All these things refers onl to the events surrounding

the siege of @erusalem in AD 8 #8 CE%6

6 )hese "ere instances of the para.olic discourse fre7uentlused . @esus "ith varing degrees of interpreta.letransparenc6

6 )he meaning of the (reek parousia is given as presenceVnotthe Second Coming6

6 )he Second Coming has alread occurred .ut "as not noticed #part of the doctrine of full preterism%6

#http1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiHPreterism%6

F6 @esus .elieved that he "ould return, as literall descri.ed, soon after his deathV.ut "as incorrect6

)his list is not exhaustive, .ut each item serves to reduce dissonance in its o"n"a #"hile, possi.l, increasing it for other reasons%6 One additional "a ofeliminating #not simpl reducing% dissonance is through non!a"areness #orignorance% of the .i.lical text6 )he ninth example is the vie" of &e" )estamenteschatolog advanced . Al.ert Sch"eit'er in %he ;uest or the 'istorical <esus #https1HHarchive6orgHdetailsH7uestofhistorica88sch"rich%6 $n his ;uest Sch"eit'erdescri.es historical treatments of <+ives of @esus= presented . 0th and 0Fthcentur scholars and concluded that each author seemed to interpret @esus in "as



characteristic of the attitudes and personalit of that author, rather than interms of the @e"ish age surrounding @esus and his pro.a.le environmentaldevelopment6 Admittedl, the details of the life of @esus are ver limited #evensupposing the validit of "hat there is%, a circumstance "hich contri.utes to thelikelihood of a succession of "hat might .e called historical Rorschach responses6

Cognitive )issonance and the 8attle6ield

Because "arfare involves the killing of people . other people, there aresituations in "hich ethical concerns arise6 hen an action . one com.atant raisesgreat ethical concerns, it is likel that cognitive dissonance ma occur6 One suchsituation arises "hen an action results in the killing of non!com.atants,particularl infants and children6 Dissonance arises "hen there is a discrepanc.et"een the moralHethical code of the com.atant and "hat the com.atant does6 )heOld )estament avoided this discrepanc unam.iguousl6

$nfanticide "as explicitl commanded . Mah"eh in 0 Samuel 0914 #alreadmentioned% .ut, also, is included in &um.ers 4010!0 #also previousl mentioned%Deuteronom 2145 and Deuteronom 416 $t is implied in passages that include666thou shalt save alive nothing that .reatheth, such as in the follo"ing1

But of the cities of these people, "hich the +ORD th (od doth give thee foran inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that .reatheth1

But thou shalt utterl destro them namel, the /ittites, and the Amorites,the Canaanites, and the Peri''ites, the /ivites, and the @e.usites as the+ORD th (od hath commanded thee1

)hat the teach ou not to do after all their a.ominations, "hich the havedone unto their gods so should e sin against the +ORD our (od6#Deuteronom 2810!0%

Although infanticide has a long histor, in the past it, as a realit, has .eeninescapa.l noticed in direct hand!to!hand com.at6 )he .om.ing pilots "ho dropped.om.s over +ondon, Dresden, or /iroshima had the circumstance of a greater

pschological distance "ith its a.sence of a"areness there. reducing thedissonance the might other"ise experience6 )he same concern applies "ith themodern use of drones, although collateral damage is likel to .e reduced6 $f theperson killing does not see or hear #or have an other sensor contact "ith% theperson#s% .eing killed, then the a.sence of a"areness #or ignorance% increases thereduction of dissonance6 )his, theoreticall, is related to the increasedpschological distance .et"een killer and the person#s% .eing killed6)heoreticall, "hat might .e termed .attlefield induced pschopath mightcontri.ute to an increased pschological distance in circumstances exemplified .* +ai, Ser.ians in Bosnia, or in commanded atrocities . &a'is in +idice #amongman others%6



Cha!ter ? Cognitive Dissonance and Church-State Conlict

)he Senators and Representatives .efore mentioned, and the *em.ersof the several State +egislatures, and all executive and ;udicialOfficers, .oth of the :nited States and of the several States,shall .e .ound . Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution.ut no religious )est shall ever .e re7uired as a ^ualification to

an Office or pu.lic )rust under the :nited States6GArticle >$ Paragraph 4 of the :6 S6 ConstitutionI

Congress shall make no la" respecting an esta.lishment of religion,or prohi.iting the free exercise thereof or a.ridging the freedomof speech, or of the press or the right of the people peacea.l toassem.le, and to petition the (overnment for a redress of grievances6GAmendment $ of the Bill of Rights of the :6 S6 ConstitutionI

Several areas of pro.a.le cognitive dissonance among :6 S6 Supreme Court;ustices appear to occur involving church!state #or religion!state% relationships6)hese have fre7uentl revolved around the Pledge of Allegiance #as modified in0F95%, the ne" #since 0F9% official motto of the :nited States, <$n (od e )rust,=

the )en Commandments, and, to a lesser extent #.ut not at all eliminated% thephrase <so help me (od,= "hich is still present in oaths of all kinds despite theunanimous decision in %orcaso v. ,atins, "hich should make its use moot #orillegal% for oaths of office6

The Pledge o6 &llegiance

)he original version of the Pledge "as constructed . -rancis Bellam in 0F2and reads1

$ pledge allegiance to m -lag and the repu.lic for "hich it stands,one nation indivisi.le, "ith li.ert and ;ustice for all6#https1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiHPledgeJofJAllegiance%

)he Pledge has .een successivel modified "ith the version from 0F25 to 0F95#adopted . Congress in 0F52% reading1

$ pledge allegiance to the -lag of the :nited States of America and to therepu.lic for "hich it stands one &ation indivisi.le "ith li.ert and;ustice for all6#https1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiHPledgeJofJAllegiance%

)"o "ords "ere added to the Pledge in 0F95 and these "ords, <under (od,= havegenerated a fair amount of cognitive dissonance6 )he current phrasing, since 0F95,of the Pledge is as follo"s1

$ pledge allegiance to the -lag of the :nited States of America, and

to the Repu.lic for "hich it stands, one &ation under (od, indivisi.le,"ith li.ert and ;ustice for all6#https1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiHPledgeJofJAllegiance%

)he dissonance arises .ecause of the changed meaning of the Pledge after additionof <under (od= and the 7uestion of "hether or not this addition violates theEsta.lishment Clause of the :6 S6 Constitution6 )he 7uestion has .een raised, mostnota.l . *ichael A6 &e"do" #El rove #niied School District1 et al. v. /e0do0 GE(:SDI% .efore the &inth Circuit Court of Appeals6

&e"do" is a phsician, la"er, atheist, and father #at the time% of an



elementar school child enrolled in the Elk (rove :nited School District6 SandraBanning #the child3s mother% had <666 sole legal custod as to the rights andresponsi.ilities to make decisions relating to the health, education and "elfare ofher daughter6= #http1HH"""6supremecourt6govHopinionsH84pdfH82!0256pdf% &e"do"o.;ected to the esta.lished practice of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance each dain the classroom even though participation "as optional #as a conse7uence of ,est 9irginia State Board o Education v. Barnette%6 )he District Court #to "hich he.rought the case% ruled that &e"do" had standing and that the Pledge "as

constitutional this led to an appeal to a three ;udge panel of the &inth CircuitCourt of Appeals6 riting for a 2!to!0 ma;orit @udge Alfred )6 (ood"in reversedthe District Court ruling and, . appling the +emon )est #see )emon v. *urt=man%,Endorsement )est #see )ynch v. Donnelly %, and the Coercion )est #see County o !llegheny v. !C)# and )ee v. ,eisman%, found the phrase <under (od= anunconstitutional esta.lishment of the religion of monotheism6 As A6 )6 (ood"instates in his ma;orit opinion1

$n the context of the Pledge, the statement that the :nited States is anation under (od is an endorsement of religion6 $t is a profession of areligious .elief, namel, a .elief in monotheism6 )he recitation that ours isa nation under (od is not a mere ackno"ledgment that man Americans .elievein a deit6 &or is it merel descriptive of the undenia.le historical

significance of religion in the founding of the Repu.lic6 Rather, the phraseone nation under (od in the context of the Pledge is normative6 )o recitethe Pledge is not to descri.e the :nited States instead, it is to s"earallegiance to the values for "hich the flag stands1 unit, indivisi.ilit,li.ert, ;ustice, and V since 0F95 V monotheism6 )he text of the officialPledge, codified in federal la", impermissi.l takes a position "ith respectto the purel religious 7uestion of the existence and identit of (od6 Aprofession that "e are a nation under (od is identical, for Esta.lishmentClause purposes, to a profession that "e are a nation under @esus, a nationunder >ishnu, a nation under eus, or a nation under no god, .ecausenone of these professions can .e neutral "ith respect to religion6 G)Ihegovernment must pursue a course of complete neutralit to"ard religion6allace, 52 :6S6 at 86 -urthermore, the school district3s practice ofteacher!led recitation of the Pledge aims to inculcate in students a respect

for the ideals set forth in the Pledge, and thus amounts to state endorsementof these ideals6 Although students cannot .e forced to participate inrecitation of the Pledge, the school district is nonetheless conveing amessage of state endorsement of a religious .elief "hen it re7uires pu.licschool teachers to recite, and lead the recitation of, the current form ofthe Pledge6 #http1HH"""6constitution6orgHusfcHFHne"do"JvJus6htm%

)he concern that <under (od= esta.lished a religion of monotheism #as decided .the panel ma;orit% "ould necessitate terminating the pu.lic use of the Pledgegenerated a fair amount of cognitive dissonance6 One #unsuccessful% method ofdissonance reduction "as the attempt . @udge -ernande' in his dissenting opinionto consider the use of <under (od= to .e a de minimis violation of theEsta.lishment Clause and, therefore, not unconstitutional6 Some #referring to @ames

*adison% suggest that this is effectivel esta.lishment . increments6

-ollo"ing a denial for .oth an en banc hearing and appeal . the &inth CircuitCourt of Appeals, the case "as appealed to the :6 S6 Supreme Court6 $n a 9!to!4decision #@ustice Scalia had recused himself .ecause of prior pu.lic comments hehad made a.out the case%, the Court ruled that &e"do" failed to have standing6Conse7uentl, there "as no need to rule on the constitutional merits of the case6

Although the five!vote ma;orit did not rule on the merits of the case, Chief@ustice Rehn7uist "rote a concurring opinion in "hich he addressed theconstitutional merits of the case "ith @ustice O3Conner concurring6 $n his opinion



Rehn7uist states, <On the merits $ conclude that the Elk (rove :nified SchoolDistrict #School District% polic that re7uires teachers to lead "illing studentsin reciting the Pledge of Allegiance "hich includes the "ords <under (od= does notviolate the Esta.lishment Clause of the -irst Amendment6= $n his opinion Rehn7uistmentions the use of <(od= historicall . President ashington #oath of officeVSohelp me (od )hanksgiving proclamation!!=666man significant favors of Almight(od= <hereas it is the dut of all &ations to ackno"ledge the pro.lems ofAlmight (od, to o.e /is "ill, to .e grateful for his .enefits, and hum.l to

implore his protection and favor Y6=% President +incoln #(etts.urgAddress!!=:nder (od= and in his second inaugural address!!=666 "ith firmness in theright as (od gives us to see the right6666=% President ilson re7uesting adeclaration of "ar against (erman #<(od helping her GAmericaI, she can do noother6=% President Roosevelt concluding his first inaugural address #<$n thededication of a nation, "e hum.l ask the .lessing of (od6 *a /e protect each andever one of us_ *a /e guide me in the das to come_=% and President Eisenho"eron D!Da #<(ood luck_ And let us .eseech the .lessings of Almight (od upon thisgreat and no.le undertaking6=%6 #http1HH"""6supremecourt6govHopinionsH84pdfH82 !0256pdf%

@ustice Rehn7uist points out, additionall, that <(od= appears in otherhistorical contexts1 <$n (od e )rust,= "hich .ecame the official :6 S6 motto in

0F9 #replacing the generall assumed mottoE Pluribus #num

that has .een presentsince 0 and is still officiall present in the (reat Seal of the :nited States,as "ell as on coins and paper .ills6% and in the Court *arshal3s proclamation,<(od save the :nited States and this honora.le Court6=#http1HH"""6supremecourt6govHopinionsH84pdfH82!0256pdf%

$n summar Rehn7uist sas1

$ do not .elieve that the phrase <under (od= in the Pledge converts itsrecital into a <religious exercise= of the sort descri.ed in +ee6 $nstead, itis a declaration of .elief in allegiance and loalt to the :nited Statesflag and the Repu.lic that it represents6 )he phrase <under (od= is in nosense a praer, nor an endorsement of an religion, .ut a simple recognitionof the fact noted in /6 R6 Rep6 &o6 0F4, at 21 <-rom the time of our

earliest histor our peoples and our institutions have reflected thetraditional concept that our &ation "as founded on a fundamental .elief in(od6= Reciting the Pledge, or listening to others recite it, is a patrioticexercise, not a religious one participants promise fidelit to our flag andour &ation, not to an particular (od, faith, or church6 Y6)he recital, in a patriotic ceremon pledging allegiance to the flag and tothe &ation, of the descriptive phrase <under (od= cannot possi.l lead to theesta.lishment of a religion, or anthing like it6#http1HH"""6supremecourt6govHopinionsH84pdfH82!0256pdf%

Although @ustice )homas seems to .e in general agreement "ith @ustice Rehn7uistin terms of the direction of the ultimate decision in this case on its merits, he

does sa #in "hat can onl .e considered an understatement%1

$n its current form, reciting the Pledge entails pledging allegiance to <the-lag of the :nited States of America, and to the Repu.lic for "hich itstands, one &ation under (od6= 5 :6 S6 C6 `56 :nder Barnette, pledgingallegiance is <to declare a .elief= that no" includes that this is <one&ation under (od6= $t is difficult to see ho" this does not entail anaffirmation that (od exists6 hether or not "e classif affirming theexistence of (od as a <formal religious exercise= akin to praer, it mustpresent the same or similar constitutional pro.lems6#http1HH"""6supremecourt6govHopinionsH84pdfH82!0256pdf%

http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/03pdf/02





@ustice O3Conner attempts to minimi'e the constitutional offense to theEsta.lishment Clause . again relating such attri.utions to <ceremonial deism= inthe follo"ing "a1

-or centuries, "e have marked important occasions or pronouncements "ithreferences to (od and invocations of divine assistance6 Such references canserve to solemni'e an occasion instead of to invoke divine provenance6 )he

reasona.le o.server discussed a.ove, full a"are of our national histor andthe origins of such practices, "ould not perceive these ackno"ledgments assignifing a government endorsement of an specific religion, or even ofreligion over nonreligion6

)here are no de minimis violations of the ConstitutionV no constitutionalharms so slight that the courts are o.liged to ignore them6 (iven the valuesthat the Esta.lishment Clause "as meant to serve, ho"ever, $ .elieve thatgovernment can, in a discrete categor of cases, ackno"ledge or refer to thedivine "ithout offending the Constitution6 )his categor of <ceremonialdeism= most clearl encompasses such things as the national motto #<$n (od e)rust=%, religious references in traditional patriotic songs such as theStar!Spangled Banner, and the "ords "ith "hich the *arshal of this Court

opens each of its sessions #<(od save the :nited States and this honora.leCourt=%6 See Alleghen, 5F2 :6 S6, at 48 #opinion of OUCO&&OR, @6%6 )hesereferences are not minor trespasses upon the Esta.lishment Clause to "hich $turn a .lind ee6 $nstead, their histor, character, and context prevent themfrom .eing constitutional violations at all6 )his case re7uires us todetermine "hether the appearance of the phrase <under (od= in the Pledge ofAllegiance constitutes an instance of such ceremonial deism6#http1HH"""6supremecourt6govHopinionsH84pdfH82!0256pdf%

But, then, she adds1

$ kno" of no religion that incorporates the Pledge into its canon, nor onethat "ould count the Pledge as a meaningful expression of religious faith6Even if taken literall, the phrase is merel descriptive it purports onl

to identif the :nited States as a &ation su.;ect to divine authorit6#http1HH"""6supremecourt6govHopinionsH84pdfH82!0256pdf%

)his divine authorit implies a theistic #.ut not necessaril monotheistic%religious .elief sstem that is at variance "ith man religious .elief sstemspresent in the :nited States6 /er literal interpretation, along "ith the hesitantadmission of @ustice )homas, is certainl one that is advanced . &e"do" and others"ho find the Pledge unconstitutional6 $t is, also, 7uite inconsistent "ith a vie"of the Pledge that interprets <under (od= to mean that our &ation "as .elieved#correctl or incorrectl% to have .een founded <under (od= and that, conse7uentl,the Pledge has no religious meaning at all6 )his latter historical vie" "aspresented in one form or another in at least t"elve of the amicus .riefs to theCourt in support of the Pledge6 $n addition, for those "ho .elieve the :6 S6

Constitution is the ultimate authorit, it seems strange to see a @ustice of theSupreme Court maintaining a theocratic position #<666 the :nited States as a &ationsu.;ect to divine authorit6=%6

@ustice O3Conner seems to su.scri.e #as do several others on the Court% to theidea that, as long as there is no religious ackno"ledgment explicitl favoring <oneparticular .elief sstem over another,= there is no violation of the Esta.lishmentClause6 )he legal pro.lem, "hich she onl partiall addresses, is the 7uestion of"hat does and does not constitute a <particular .elief sstem6= -or her this seemsto .e limited to A.rahamic monotheism #at its most ecumenical limit% and clearlexcludes atheism, agnosticism, poltheism, pantheism, #actual% deism, Ethical



Culture, secular humanism, and man :nitarians6 She does admit that Buddhism is apro.lem for her interpretation6

As an indication of the prevalence of divinit in sm.ols, songs, mottos, andoaths, O3Conner includes a footnote illustrating this1

&ote, for example, the follo"ing state mottoes1 Ari'ona #<(od Enriches=%Colorado #<&othing "ithout Providence=% Connecticut #</e ho )ransplanted

Still Sustains=% -lorida #<$n (od e )rust=% Ohio #<ith (od, All )hingsAre Possi.le=% and South Dakota #<:nder (od the People Rule=%6 Ari'ona,Colorado, and -lorida have placed their mottoes on their state seals, and themottoes of Connecticut and South Dakota appear on the flags of those Statesas "ell6 (eorgiaUs ne"l!redesigned flag includes the motto <$n (od e)rust6= )he oaths of ;udicial office, citi'enship, and militar and civilservice all end "ith the #optional% phrase <GSIo help me (od6= See 2 :6 S6C6 `594 9 :6S6 C6 `4440 08 :6 S6 C6 `982 C- R `44606 *an of ourpatriotic songs contain overt or implicit references to the divine, amongthem1 <America= #<Protect us . th might, great (od our ?ing=% <America theBeautiful= #<(od shed his grace on thee=% and <(od .less America6=#http1HH"""6supremecourt6govHopinionsH84pdfH82!0256pdf%

)his note serves to .olster her argument a.out the "idespread use of religiousterminolog in civil religion mentioned . @ustice Brennan in his dissentingopinion in )ynch v. Donnelly as follo"s1

-inall, "e have noted that government cannot .e completel prohi.ited fromrecogni'ing in its pu.lic actions the religious .eliefs and practices of theAmerican people as an aspect of our national histor and culture6 See Engel v. 9itale, supra, at 549, n6 20 Schempp, supra, at 488!485 #BRE&&A&, @6,concurring%6 hile $ remain uncertain a.out these 7uestions, $ "ould suggestthat such practices as the designation of $n (od e )rust as our nationalmotto, or the references to (od contained in the Pledge of Allegiance to theflag can .est .e understood, in Dean Rosto"3s apt phrase, as a form aceremonial deism, protected from Esta.lishment Clause scrutin chiefl.ecause the have lost through rote repetition an significant religious

content6

$t remains the case, nevertheless, that man people consider the "ord <(od= to havesome religious significance .eond the existential e7uivalent of the tooth fairassigned to it . ceremonial deism6

One criterion used . the Court to evaluate the constitutionalit of a la" "ithrespect to the Esta.lishment Clause is concerned "ith the purpose of the la"6 $s itsecular or religious in its intentN One "a of determining this is to look at thecircumstances surrounding its passage6 Although the ?nights of Colum.us andnumerous mem.ers of Congress "ere actuall involved, the most influential "ereSenator /omer -erguson and Representative +ouis Ra.aut, .oth of *ichigan6:ltimatel, it "as the .ill in final form that "as prepared . Ra.aut that "as

adopted and passed . .oth Senate and /ouse and signed into la" . PresidentEisenho"er on @une 05, 0F956 One other person "as significantl influential ingetting the "ords <under (od= added to the PledgeVDr6 (eorge *6 Dochert, Pastor ofthe &e" Mork Avenue Pres.terian Church6 Dochert had delivered a sermon entitled,<:nder (od= in "hich he advocated the addition of <under (od= #from +incoln3s(etts.urg Address% to the Pledge of Allegiance6 Attending the sermon "as PresidentEisenho"er "ho "as impressed favora.l . the suggestion6 Dochert chose <under(od= to <include the @e"ish communit, and the people of the *uslim faith, and themriad of denominations of Christians in the land6= Continuing, he said <hat ofthe honest atheistN Philosophicall speaking, an atheistic American is acontradiction in terms6= )he atheist <cannot den the Christian revelation and



logicall live . the Christian ethic6 And if he denies the Christian ethic, hefalls short of the American ideal of life6= -or Dochert, the revised Pledge "ouldexclude atheists6 #http1HHold6post!ga'ette6comHdo"nloadsH2882828sermon6pdf%

Congressman +ouis Ra.aut stated in support of his .ill1

Mou ma argue from da"n to dusk a.out differing political, economic, andsocial sstems, .ut the fundamental issue "hich is the un.ridgea.le gap

.et"een America and Communist Russia is a .elief in Almight (od6 -rom theroot of atheism stems the evil "eed of communism and its .ranches ofmaterialism and political dictatorship6 :nless "e are "illing to affirm our.elief in the existence of (od and /is creator!creature relation to man, "edrop man himself to the significance of a grain of sand and open thefloodgates to trann and oppression6#https1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiH+ouisJC6JRa.aut%

Senator -erguson introduced his resolution in the Senate "ith <$ .elieve thismodification of the pledge is important .ecause it highlights one of the realfundamental differences .et"een the free "orld and the Communist "orld, namel.elief in (od6= #http1HH"""6ntimes6comH2882H8H2HusH"ith!little!ado!congress!put!god!in!pledge!in!0F956html% $n neither case "as there an emphasis on <under (od=

meaning an historical description #or ackno"ledgment% of the .eliefs of the-ounding -athers6 Rather, it is an endorsement of monotheism designed to advancereligion6

President Eisenho"er stated #"hen signing the .ill into la"%1

-rom this da for"ard, the millions of our school children "ill dailproclaim in ever cit and to"n, ever village and rural school house, thededication of our nation and our people to the AlmightY $n this "a "e arereaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in AmericaUs heritage andfuture in this "a "e shall constantl strengthen those spiritual "eapons"hich forever "ill .e our countrUs most po"erful resource, in peace or in"ar6= #https1HH"""6catholiccompan6comH.logHknights!of!colum.us!pledge!of!allegiance%

$t appears from the statements of those directl involved "ith the passage of thela" changing the Pledge, that a primar concern "as to reinforce . repeatedaffirmation .elief in a monotheistic deit6 Possi.l, .ecause of the legalchallenges to the Pledge on Esta.lishment Clause grounds, the :6 S6 Congress choseto reaffirm support and, also, revise the previousl .latant rationale for thePledge in its revised form . resolution1

hereas the /ouse of Representatives reaffirmed support for the Pledge ofAllegiance to the -lag in the 08th Congress . adopting /ouse Resolution 59Fon @une 2, 2882, . a vote of 50!4 and

hereas the Senate reaffirmed support for the Pledge of Allegiance to

the -lag in the 08th Congress . adopting Senate Resolution 2F2 on@une 2, 2882, . a vote of FF!81

&o", therefore, .e it Resolved, )hat it is the sense of the /ouse ofRepresentatives that!!

#0% the phrase Zone &ation, under (od,U in the Pledge of Allegiance to the-lag reflects that religious faith "as central to the -ounding -athers andthus to the founding of the &ation

#2% the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to the -lag, including the



phrase, Zone &ation, under (od,U is a patriotic act, not an act or statementof religious faith or .elief 6666#https1HH"""6govtrack6usHcongressH.illsH08Hhres042HtextHeh%

)his reaffirmation language is an apparent attempt to reduce the Constitutionalconflict "ith the Esta.lishment Clause . changing the indicated intent from "hatDochert, Ra.aut, -erguson, and Eisenho"er interpreted it to .e into phrasing "hichreduces the pro.a.le cognitive dissonance6 One might have ;ust as ;ustifia.l have

said that <the phrase, 3one &ation under (od,3 is an exercise in languagepronunciation #if not English understanding%, thus not an act of religious faith or.elief,= and having no religious significance6 <:nder (od= in this latter vie" has.ecome a linguistic deus e( machina facilitating learning and unrelated toreligious indoctrination6 Others, ho"ever, find it other"ise6

@udge Stephen Reinhardt states in his dissenting opinion to the decision#reversing the earlier decision in /e0do0 v. Congress E#SD SC#SD % of the &inthCircuit Court of Appeals in /e0do0 v. Rio )inda #"ithout an attempt to reducedissonance%1

)o put it .luntl, no ;udge familiar "ith the histor of the Pledge could ingood conscience .elieve, as toda3s ma;orit purports to do, that the "ords

under (od "ere inserted into the Pledge for an purpose other than anexplicitl and predominantl religious one1 to recogni'e the po"er and theuniversalit of (od in our pledge of allegiance to ackno"ledge thedependence of our people, and our (overnment upon the moral direction and therestraints of religion, 088 Cong6 Rec6 9F8!F0 #0F95% and to indoctrinateschoolchildren in the .elief that (od exists, id6 at 9F09, F0F6 &or couldan ;udge familiar "ith controlling Supreme Court precedent seriousl denthat carring out such an indoctrination in a pu.lic school classroomunconstitutionall forces man oung children either to profess a religious.elief antithetical to their personal vie"s or to declare themselves throughtheir silence or nonparticipation to .e protesting non.elievers, there.su.;ecting themselves to hostilit and ridicule6#/e0do0 v. Rio )inda #nion School Dist6, 9F -6 4d 088 ! Court of Appeals,Fth Circuit 2808%

)he dissonance generated is a conse7uence of t"o competing vie"s of thesignificance of <under (od= in the Pledge6 Either the phrase is a religiousaffirmation of a monotheistic deit, "hich makes the Pledge an unconstitutional.reach of the Esta.lishment Clause, or the phrase has no religious significance#ceremonial deism%, "hich insulates it against constitutional challenge6 )hispermits one to reduce dissonance . considering its significance to .e less ormisperceived6

n God /e Trust

)he motto on :6 S6 coins, <$& (OD E )R:S),= has .een present sporadicall oncurrenc since 05, .ut not until 0F9 did it appear as the official motto of the

:nited States, replacing the de acto motto E Pluribus #num #out of man, one%"hich "as suggested . @ohn Adams, Ben;amin -ranklin, and )homas @efferson in06 After initiall .eing re;ected E Pluribus #num "as adopted in 02 as themotto for the (reat Seal of the :nited States and continues in that role until thepresent6 #https1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiHEJpluri.usJunum% )he (reat Seal appears ina variet of official documents and, since 0F49, on the reverse of the one!dollar.ill as sho"n in $llustration 41



$llustration 46 )he reverse of the :6 S6 one!dollar .ill sho"ing, on theright, the eagle holding a scroll in its .eak containing the (reat Seal

motto, <E P)#RIB#S #/#" 6= On the left there is a pramid inscri.ed a.ove

"ith <A&&:$) COEP)$S= #GProvidence hasI approved of GourI undertakings% and .elo" "ith <&O>:S ORDO SEC+OR:*= #a ne" order for the ages%6 $n themiddle appears the motto #official since 0F9% <$& (OD E )R:S)6=

#https1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiH(reatJSealJofJtheJ:nitedJStates%

$llustration 5 sho"s the presence of the national motto on a coin1

$llustration 56 )he o.verse #a.ove right% reveals the presence of <$& (OD E )R:S)= on the penn6 )he reverse #a.ove left% displas <E P)#RIB#S #/#" 6= Photo adapted from https1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiHPennJ#:nitedJStatesJcoin%6



)hus, the placement of <$& (OD E )R:S)= on currenc, as "ell as its elevation toofficial status as the &ational *otto of the :nited States, has replaced thephrase, <E P)#RIB#S #/#" ,= #out of man, one% "hich has served as a de acto unofficial motto since 02, .ut continues officiall in its appearance in thegreat Seal of the :nited States as sho"n in $llustration 96

$llustration 96 )he (reat Seal of the :nited States #O.verse side% sho"ing themotto E P)#RIB#S #/#" 6 )he motto, eagle, and several other components are also found in the seals of the President, >ice President, Congress, :S /ouse ofRepresentatives, :S Senate, and :S Supreme Court6 $t is present on the right side of the reverse side of the dollar .ill #see $llustration 4%6 )he Reverse side of the (reat Seal of the :nited States is displaed on the left side ofthe dollar .ill #as sho"n in $llustration 4%6 #https1HHcommons6"ikimedia6orgH"ikiH-ile1(reatJSealJofJtheJ:nitedJStates J

W2o.verseW2F6svgTfile%

)he *otto and the Esta.lishment Clause

+ong .efore the prominence of <ceremonial deism= and, of course, the hugel

repeated use of the phrase, <$n (od e )rust,= the religious intent is evident6 )helegal re7uirements resulting in its presence on currenc #and else"here% contri.uteto an artificiall induced u.i7uit, suggested . @ustice O3Conner as a <ceremonialdeism= ;ustification that might spare the motto from .eing ad;udicated asunconstitutional6 )he historical complexit of the motto prior to its .ecoming theofficial :6 S6 &ational *otto in 0F9 can .e seen in its use on various tpes of :6S6 currenc as descri.ed on the Department of )reasur "e. page1

/istor of 3$n (od e )rust3

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Seal_of_the_United_States





)he motto $& (OD E )R:S) "as placed on :nited States coins largel .ecauseof the increased religious sentiment existing during the Civil ar6 Secretarof the )reasur Salmon P6 Chase received man appeals from devout personsthroughout the countr, urging that the :nited States recogni'e the Deit on:nited States coins6 -rom )reasur Department records, it appears that thefirst such appeal came in a letter dated &ovem.er 04, 006 $t "as "ritten toSecretar Chase . Rev6 *6 R6 atkinson, *inister of the (ospel fromRidleville, Pennslvania, and read1

Dear Sir1 Mou are a.out to su.mit our annual report to the Congressrespecting the affairs of the national finances6

One fact touching our currenc has hitherto .een seriousl overlooked6$ mean the recognition of the Almight (od in some form on our coins6

Mou are pro.a.l a Christian6 hat if our Repu.lic "ere not shattered.eond reconstructionN ould not the anti7uaries of succeedingcenturies rightl reason from our past that "e "ere a heathen nationNhat $ propose is that instead of the goddess of li.ert "e shall havenext inside the 04 stars a ring inscri.ed "ith the "ords PERPE):A+:&$O& "ithin the ring the allseeing ee, cro"ned "ith a halo

.eneath this ee the American flag, .earing in its field stars e7ual tothe num.er of the States united in the folds of the .ars the "ords(OD, +$BER)M, +A6

)his "ould make a .eautiful coin, to "hich no possi.le citi'en couldo.;ect6 )his "ould relieve us from the ignomin of heathenism6 )his"ould place us openl under the Divine protection "e have personallclaimed6 -rom m hearth $ have felt our national shame in diso"ning (odas not the least of our present national disasters6

)o ou first $ address a su.;ect that must .e agitated6

As a result, Secretar Chase instructed @ames Pollock, Director of the *intat Philadelphia, to prepare a motto, in a letter dated &ovem.er 28, 001

Dear Sir1 &o nation can .e strong except in the strength of (od, orsafe except in /is defense6 )he trust of our people in (od should .edeclared on our national coins6

Mou "ill cause a device to .e prepared "ithout unnecessar dela "ith amotto expressing in the fe"est and tersest "ords possi.le this nationalrecognition6

6666

$n a letter to the *int Director on Decem.er F, 04, Secretar Chase stated1

$ approve our mottoes, onl suggesting that on that "ith the

ashington o.verse the motto should .egin "ith the "ord O:R, so as toread O:R (OD A&D O:R CO:&)RM6 And on that "ith the shield, it should .echanged so as to read1 $& (OD E )R:S)6

)he Congress passed the Act of April 22, 056 )his legislation changed thecomposition of the one!cent coin and authori'ed the minting of the t"o!centcoin6 )he *int Director "as directed to develop the designs for these coinsfor final approval of the Secretar6 $& (OD E )R:S) first appeared on the05 t"o!cent coin6

6666



A la" passed . the 5th Congress #P6+6 5!058% and approved . the Presidenton @ul 48, 0F9, the President approved a @oint Resolution of the 5thCongress, declaring $& (OD E )R:S) the national motto of the :nited States6$& (OD E )R:S) "as first used on paper mone in 0F9, "hen it appeared onthe one!dollar silver certificate6 )he first paper currenc .earing the mottoentered circulation on Octo.er 0, 0F96 )he Bureau of Engraving and Printing#BEP% "as converting to the dr intaglio printing process6 During this

conversion, it graduall included $& (OD E )R:S) in the .ack design of allclasses and denominations of currenc6#http1HH"""6treasur6govHa.outHeducationHPagesHin!god!"e!trust6aspx%

-rom the preceding histor provided . the Department of )reasur, it is evidentthat the rationale for including the motto $& (OD E )R:S) on coins is religious6

Prior to the elevation of $n (od e )rust in status to .eing the official :6 S6&ational *otto, the religiousl neutral E Pluribus #num #out of man, one% servedfrom 02 until 0F9 as a de acto national motto #and continues to the present asthe motto of the (reat Seal of the :nited States%6 $t expresses the idea that adiverse population #ethnicall, politicall, religiousl, etc6% can function as oneunified countr, a :nited States of America6 $n 0F9 the :6 S6 Congress voted to

make <$n (od e )rust= the official :6 S6 &ational *otto #Pu.lic +a" 5!90 G4 :SC`482I%, "hich "as 7uickl signed into la" . President Eisenho"er6 $n 2800 the/ouse @udiciar Committee voted to reaffirm the &ational *otto #/6 Con6 Res604%despite some concerns a.out its constitutionalit expressed in an accompaningdissent6 #https1HH"""6congress6govH002HcrptHhrpt5HCRP)!002hrpt56pdf%

Esta.lishment Clause Challenges to the &ational *otto

Because of the evident religious motivation and language, the &ational *otto has.een challenged several times #excluding cases in "hich statements includingreferences to the motto are given as dicta% in District Court #8>'air v. Blumenthal Schmidt v. Cline% and at the Appellate Court level #!rono0 v. #nited States aylor v. #nited States%6 $n 8>'air v. Blumenthal, O3/air o.;ected to thedispla of $n (od e )rust on currenc as a violation of the Esta.lishment Clause

and -ree Exercise Clause6 )he suit "as dismissed on the .asis of the precedent set. !rono0 v. #nited States #"hich "ill .e discussed in some detail follo"ingSchmidt v. Cline%6

Schmidt, a pagan, reported that she "as offended . the Count )reasurer3sprominent displa of <$n (od e )rust,= "hich included a .arel visi.le statementthat it "as the &ational *otto6 Schmidt "as also offended . a succession of#incompletel documented% religious actions . defendant Cline6 Assuming thatSchmidt had standing, the court ruled on the Esta.lishment Clause attack that,despite

Y esta.lishment clause analsis GhavingI undergone a .arrage of change inrecent ears, creating a <morass of inconsistent Esta.lishment Clause

decisions,= Y6

and .ased on precedents, !rono0 v. #nited States and aylor v. #nited States, .othhaving determined the motto constitutional, Schmidt3s case similarl failed in itsconstitutional challenge6#http1HHla"6;ustia6comHcasesHfederalHdistrict!courtsH-Supp2H02H00FH290245H%

!rono0 v. #nited States "as an appeal from a District Court including acomplaint that <challenged the use of expressions of trust in (od . the :nitedStates (overnment on its coinage, currenc, official documents and pu.lications6Specificall, the action challenged the constitutionalit as repugnant to the



Esta.lishment Clause of the -irst Amendment of t"o federal statutes1

At such time as ne" dies for the printing of currenc are adopted, the diesshall .ear, at such place or places thereon as the Secretar of the )reasurma determine to .e appropriate, the inscription $n (od "e )rust,3 andthereafter this inscription shall appear on all :nited States currenc andcoins6 40 :6S6C6 ` 425a6

)he national motto of the :nited States is declared to .e $n (od "e)rust63 4 :6S6C6 ` 06 #!rono0 v. #nited States, 542 -6 2d 252 ! Court ofAppeals, Fth Circuit 0F8%

)he decision affirming that of the District Court #against Arono"% "as .ased on thestated rationale1

$t is 7uite o.vious that the national motto and the slogan on coinage andcurrenc $n (od e )rust has nothing "hatsoever to do "ith theesta.lishment of religion6 $ts use is of a patriotic or ceremonial characterand .ears no true resem.lance to a governmental sponsorship of a religiousexercise6

and

hile ceremonial and patriotic ma not .e particularl apt "ords todescri.e the categor of the national motto, it is excluded from -irstAmendment significance .ecause the motto has no theological or ritualisticimpact6 As stated . the Congressional report, it has spiritual andpschological value and inspirational 7ualit6 G-ootnote omittedI#!rono0 v. #nited States, 542 -6 2d 252 ! Court of Appeals, Fth Circuit 0F8%

)here are some for "hom it is not 7uite so o.vious that <$n (od e )rust= hasnothing "hatsoever to do "ith the esta.lishment of a religion6 Some, $ suspect,consider trusting in (od pro.a.l has some connection "ith religion #possi.l evenmore than "ith patriotism% and is monotheistic in its theological manifestation6 )osuppose that <$n (od e )rust= does not favor monotheism over poltheism #or man

other religious .elief sstems% re7uires an em.arrassing amount of ;udiciallinguistic gmnastics6 )his decision displas a conse7uence of the application ofceremonial deism and its resulting triviali'ation of the deit in this case as "ellas others #such as, 8>'air v. Blumenthal aylor v. #nited States Schmidt v. Cline /e0do0 v. )e:evre and others% through stare decisis6 -or example, "ithoutregard to standing, one conclusion stated in /e0do0 v. )e:evre "as, Accordingl,&e"do"3s Esta.lishment Clause challenge is foreclosed . Arono"6 G/e0do0 v. )eevre, 9F -64d 4 #Fth Cir6 2808%I

-or purposes of analsis, consider the case of /e0do0 v. Peterson "hichchallenged .oth the Esta.lishment Clause constitutionalit of the printing of <$n(od e )rust= on currenc and, also, the -ree Exercise Clause through theReligious -reedom Restoration Act of 0FF4 #R-RA%6 $ "ill consider onl the

Esta.lishment Clause challenge here6 Although Arono" "as mentioned, this Court ofAppeals gave additional attention to t"o prongs of the +emon test #)emon v. *urt=man% and, also, to various dicta provided "ithin several Supreme Courtdecisions6 Although not unprecedented #e.g.1 see ?idd v6 O.ama%, the dicta ma haveplaed a stronger role in the ruling against &e"do" in this case6 )he t"o prongs of+emon #as given in /e0do0 v. Peterson% "ere1

06 Do the statutes esta.lishing the national motto and directing itsreproduction on :6S6 currenc clearl have a secular purposeN

26 $s the primar effect of the motto to advance religionN



So, ho" does /e0do0 v. Peterson fare "ith regard to these t"o prongs #the thirdprong of +emon "as not at issue in this case%N as the origin and su.se7uentpassage of legislation mandating the placement of the motto clearl secularN )heans"er to this 7uestion can .e o.tained from historical descriptions of the initialadvocac for its placement on coins and the later la" #Pu.lic +a" 058% "hichmandated that the motto <$& (OD E )R:S)= .e placed on all ne" currenc #signedinto la" in 0F99%6 Parts of the previousl 7uoted </istor of 3$n (od e )rust3=

reveal the follo"ing reasons mentioned for recogni'ing the Deit on coins1

06 $t "ill correct the overlooking of <the recognition of Almight (od insome form on our coins6=

26 $t "ill prevent anti7uaries of succeeding centuries from concluding that "e are a heathen nation6

46 $t <"ould relieve us from the ignomin of heathenism6=

56 <&o nation can .e strong except in the strength of (od, or safe exceptin /is defense6 )he trust of our people in (od should .e declared on our

national coins6=

#http1HH"""6treasur6govHa.outHeducationHPagesHin!god!"e!trust6aspx%

-lorida Representative Charles E6 Bennett sponsored the legislation placing <$n (ode )rust= on national currenc in 0F996 /is vie" of it is indicated as follo"s1

)he legislation placing <$n (od e )rust= on national currenc Collection ofthe :6S6 On this date, President D"ight D6 Eisenho"er signed into la" /6R60F, a .ill that re7uired that the inscription <$n (od e )rust= appear onall paper and coin currenc6 Representative Charles E6 Bennett of -loridaintroduced the resolution in the /ouse "here it "on fast .acking from theCommittee on Banking and Currenc and support from like!minded *em.ers suchas /erman E.erharter of Pennslvania and Oren /arris of Arkansas6 <&othingcan .e more certain than that our countr "as founded in a spiritualatmosphere and "ith a firm trust in (od,= Bennett proclaimed on the /ouse

-loor6 <hile the sentiment of trust in (od is universal and timeless, theseparticular four "ords Z$n (od e )rustU are indigenous to our countr6=-urthermore, Bennett invoked the cold "ar struggle in arguing for themeasure6 <$n these das "hen imperialistic and materialistic communism seeksto attack and destro freedom, "e should continuall look for "as tostrengthen the foundations of our freedom,= he said6 Adding <$n (od e )rust=to currenc, Bennett .elieved, "ould <serve as a constant reminder= that thenationUs political and economic fortunes "ere tied to its spiritual faith6 #http1HHhistor6house6govH/istorical/ighlightHDetailH429NretK)rue%

And1

$n vie" of this $ sincerel hope that congress "ill take speed action $n

enacting /ouse @oint Resolution 0F so that our printed currenc "illhenceforth .ear the $nspirational phrase, $n (od "e trust63

$n these das "hen imperialistic and materialistic communism seeks to attackand to destro freedom, it $s proper for us to seek continuousl for "as tostrengthen the foundations of our freedom6 At the .ase of our freedom $s ourfaith $n (od and the desire of Americans to live . /is "ill and . /isguidance6 As long as this countr trusts $n (od, it "ill prevail6 )o remindall of us of this self!evident truth, it is proper that our currenc shouldcarr these inspiring "ords, coming do"n to as through our histor1 $n (od"e trust6= Representative Bennett of -lorida!!Congressional Record April 04,



0F99, page 5456#https1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiHCharlesJEd"ardJBennett%

Does <$& (OD E )R:S)= placed on currenc have a secular legislative purpose asre7uired . the first prong of the +emon testsN Apart from getting mem.ers ofCongress re!elected . an electorate sharing their ma;orit theological pre;udices,it "ould seem to not .e the case6 As can .e seen, monotheistic religious argumentsare o.viousl prevalent in the ;ustifications provided6 $t can, $ think, clearl .e

said that the legislation fails the first prong of the +emon test6

hat a.out the second prongN Does the legislation have a primar effect thatneither advances nor inhi.its religionN Consider Ethical Culture, Secular /umanism,man :nitarians, poltheism, Buddhism, pantheism, actual philosophical deism,atheism, agnosticism, )aoism, and @ainism6 -or adherents of these religions thereis no personal (od #in "hom one "ould have trust% or the concept is meaningless6&o", does the motto <$n (od e )rust= favor monotheism over an of the non!monotheistic religions mentioned a.oveN $t "ould seem that the onl correct ans"eris <es= in "hich case the legislation fails the second #or effect% prong6 )here issimpl no "a in "hich the motto can .e regarded seriousl as constitutional6 Butlet us vie" the Esta.lishment Clause portion of the decision in /e0do0 v. Peterson1

e have never addressed the 7uestion of "hether the inclusion of the "ords$n (od e )rust on :nited States currenc violates the Constitution or R-RAand "rite toda to clarif the la" on this issue6 -our other circuit courtshave ruled on this 7uestion, ho"ever, and have found that the statutes atissue do not contravene the Constitution6 See *idd v. 8bama, 4 -ed6Appx6 2#D6C6Cir62808% # per curiam% #affirming the district court and holding thatthe printing of the motto on currenc does not violate the -irst Amendment%aylor v. #nited States, 5 -64d 205, 20 #08th Cir60FF% #holding that thestatutes esta.lishing the national motto and directing its reproduction on:6S6 currenc clearl have a secular purpose and that the motto3s primareffect is not to advance religion instead, it is a form of ceremonialdeism,3 and, therefore, the statutes do not violate the Esta.lishmentClause% 8>'air v. "urray , 9 -62d 0055 #9th Cir60FF% # per curiam%#upholding the constitutionalit of the statutes re7uiring the motto to .e

placed on currenc and the statute criminali'ing the defacement of themotto%, aff3g district court3s opinion in 8>'air v. Blumenthal, 52 -6Supp60F #6D6)ex60F% !rono0 v. #nited States, 542 -62d 252 #Fth Cir60F8%#affirming the dismissal of a challenge to .oth the motto and its inscriptionon currenc .ecause GiIt is 7uite o.vious that the national motto and theslogan on coinage and currenc $n (od e )rust3 has nothing "hatsoever to do"ith the esta.lishment of religion6 $ts use is of a patriotic or ceremonialcharacter% see also /e0do0 v. )eevre, 9F -64d 4 #Fth Cir62808%#declining to overrule Arono"%6 e agree "ith our sister circuits and holdthat 40 :6S6C6 `` 9002#d%#0% and 9005#.% do not violate the Esta.lishmentClause, the -ree Exercise Clause or R-RA6 Accordingl, the ;udgment of thedistrict court is affirmed6

#/e0do0 v. Peterson, 94 -6 4d 089 ! Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit 2805%

Ever since the decision "as issued "ith its catechism,

$t is 7uite o.vious that the national motto and the slogan on coinage andcurrenc <$n (od e )rust= has nothing "hatsoever to do "ith theesta.lishment of religion6 $ts use is of a patriotic or ceremonial character6

"e find this <7uite o.vious= ;ustification for its constitutionalit6 Despitehistorical evidence "hich .elies this argument, the idea is found in laterdecisions ver.atim, along "ith the corollar statement indicating <a secularpurpose,= as in aylor v. #nited States1



)he motto3s primar effect is not to advance religion instead, it is a formof ceremonial deism "hich through historical usage and u.i7uit cannot .ereasona.l understood to conve government approval of religious .elief6#aylor v. #nited States, 5 -64d 205 #08th Cir6%%

And, in Schmidt v. Cline1

Plaintiffs .latantl ignore the fact that .inding precedent exists on afundamental issue presented in this case6 )he )enth Circuit has s7uarel,unam.iguousl, and recentl held that the national motto $n (od e )rustdoes not constitute an esta.lishment of religion under either the test setforth in )emon v. *urt=man, 584 :6S6 82, F0 S6Ct6 2089, 2F +6Ed62d 59#0F0%G04I, or the more recent endorsement testG05I set forth in )amb>s Chapel v. Center "oriches #nion :ree Sch. Dist6, 98 :6S6 45, 004 S6Ct62050, 025 +6Ed62d 492 #0FF4%6 aylor v. #nited States, 5 -64d 205 #0FF%6

$n (alor, the )enth Circuit held that the national motto has a secularpurpose, sm.oli'es the historical role of religion in our societ, fosterspatriotism, and expresses confidence in the future that its primar effectis not to advance religion and that it does not create an intimate

relationship of the tpe that suggests unconstitutional entanglement ofchurch and state, easil meeting the re7uirements of the +emon test6 5 -64dat 206 -urther, the )enth Circuit held that a reasona.le o.server, a"are ofthe purpose, context, and histor of the phrase $n (od "e trust "ould notconsider its use 666 to .e an endorsement of religion6 5 -64d at 206

#Schmidt v. Cline, 02 -6 Supp6 2d 00F #D6 ?an6 2888%%

)he statement in Schmidt v. Cline, considered sufficientl meritorious to .e 7uotedin its argument, namel,

-urther, the )enth Circuit held that a reasona.le o.server, a"are of thepurpose, context, and histor of the phrase $n (od "e trust "ould notconsider its use 666 to .e an endorsement of religion6

$t is not clear "here this hpothetical reasona.le o.server o.tained his or herhistorical kno"ledge of the phrase <$n (od e )rust= given the clear histor of thephrase .ased on statements of advocates6 -or some readers the follo"ing statementprovided . aylor v. #nited States ma .e relevant to this point1

)he application of the reasona.le o.server standard helps explain "h "ere;ect the -oundation3s insistence upon further fact finding at the triallevel, including the introduction of expert testimon and polling data6 eneed not engage in such empirical investigation .ecause "e do not ask"hether there is an person "ho could find an endorsement of religion,"hether some people ma .e offended . the displa, or "hether somereasona.le person might think Gthe StateI endorses religion6 $d6 #O3Connor,@6, concurring% #7uoting !mericans #nited or Separation o Church and State

v. rand Rapids, F8 -62d 094, 0955 #th Cir6 0FF2% #en banc%% #emphasis and.rackets in original%6 G)Ihe endorsement in7uir is not a.out theperceptions of particular individuals or saving isolated non!adherents fromthe discomfort of vie"ing sm.ols of faith to "hich the do not su.scri.e6$d6 #O3Connor, @6, concurring%6 $t is instead an o.;ective in7uir that thiscourt is full e7uipped to conduct "ith the facts at hand6 After making thatin7uir, "e find that a reasona.le o.server, a"are of the purpose, context,and histor of the phrase $n (od "e trust, "ould not consider its use orits reproduction on :6S6 currenc to .e an endorsement of religion6#aylor v. #nited States, 5 -64d 205 #08th Cir6%%



$ am frankl mstified . this argument6 $t seems that the )enth Circuit Court ofAppeals is stating that the reasona.le o.server standard re7uires no empiricalinvestigation of the o.server3s kno"ledge .ecause,

$t is instead an o.;ective in7uir that this court is full e7uipped toconduct "ith the facts at hand6 After making that in7uir, "e find that areasona.le o.server, a"are of the purpose, context, and histor of the phrase$n (od "e trust, "ould not consider its use or its reproduction on :6S6

currenc to .e an endorsement of religion6

)he source of the alleged facts is ver unclear6 /o" their validit andsignificance exceeds that of information provided . empirical data is unstatedother than to sa that the court making its <o.;ective in7uir= asserts thereasona.le o.server <"ould not consider its G<$n (od e )rust=I use or itsreproduction on :6S6 Currenc to .e an endorsement of religion6

Another source used and mentioned . aylor v. #nited States is a collection ofdicta from previous Supreme Court decisions6 Specificall,

Our decision is confirmed . the statements of the Supreme Court and thedecisions of other circuit courts that have addressed the 7uestion6 )he

Supreme Court has noted, for example, that GoIur previous opinions haveconsidered in dicta the motto and the pledge Gof allegianceI, characteri'ingthem as consistent "ith the proposition that government ma not communicatean endorsement of religious .elief6 Alleghen, 5F2 :6S6 at 82!84, 08F S6Ct6at 4089!8 see also id6 at 29, 08F S6Ct6 at 400 #O3Connor, @6,concurring%+nch, 59 :6S6 at F4, 085 S6Ct6 at 04F #O3Connor, @6, concurring% id6 at0!0, 085 S6Ct6 at 040!2 #Brennan, @6, dissenting% School District o !bington %o0nship v. Schempp, 45 :6S6 284, 484, 4 S6Ct6 098, 004, 08+6Ed62d 55 #Brennan, @6, concurring% Engel v. 9itale, 48 :6S6 520, 55F!98,2 S6Ct6 020, 029!, +6Ed62d 80 #Ste"art, @6, dissenting%6 hile thesestatements are dicta, this court considers itself .ound . Supreme Courtdicta almost as firml as . the Court3s outright holdings, particularl"hen the dicta is recent and not enfee.led . later statements6 Pittsburg ? "id0ay Coal "ining Co. v. ,atchman, 92 -64d 0940, 0958 n6 08 #08th Cir60FF9%6

*oreover, the t"o other circuit courts that have specificall addressed this7uestion have held that the motto and its use on :6S6 currenc do not offendthe Esta.lishment Clause6 Arono", 542 -62d 252 8>'air v. "urray , 9 -62d0055 #9th Cir60F% # per curiam%, cert6 denied su. nom6 8>'air v. Blumenthal,552 :6S6 F48, FF S6Ct6 22, 0 +6Ed62d 2F #0FF%6

#aylor v. #nited States, 5 -64d 205 #08th Cir6%%

)hese dicta suggest ho", in the event certiorari is granted in some future appeal,at least some of the @ustices on the Court ma .e inclined to decide6 )he alsosuggest considerations that might influence possi.le reversal upon appeal6

A final consideration regarding the &ational *otto <$n (od e )rust= isconcerned "ith matters apart from its constitutional validit6 $n a pluralistic

societ, such as the :nited States, the *otto is divisive in its effect6 $t is,also, inaccurate since a significant minorit of the :6 S6 population do not.elieve in "hat it states6 $t might .e more accurate to change the *otto to <$n (odSome of :s )rust= or <$n (od *ost of :s )rust6= )he current version is simplfalse6

C+-C*US+- T+ P&RT

Residents of the :nited States su.scri.e to one or the other of a multitude ofreligions or, in increasing num.ers, ma .e religiousl unaffiliated6Demographicall, there is a relativel higher proportion of self!identified



Christians in the :nited States than "orld"ide6 )he significance of thispreponderance of adherents to a single religion is that it increases pro.a.leingroup!outgroup tensions6 )his resulting tension ma have a conse7uence that adominant ma;orit ma act in "as detrimental to the coexisting minorit6 )hedetrimental dominant .ehavior ma .e manifested in seemingl trivial instances ofingroup!outgroup conflict, illustrated . nonreligious differences involving eecolor or, much more significantl, in the .ehavior of &a'i (erman directed against@e"s through a succession of progressivel incremental stages that separated the

dominant ma;orit from the @e"ish minorit6

)he severit of detrimental actions taken against the minorit outgroup appearsto increase "ith the phsical or pschological distance .et"een the groups6 )heactions taken . those among the dominant ma;orit ma .e inconsistent "ith theethical values of its mem.ers6 Recogni'ing this inconsistenc generates unpleasantcognitive dissonance, "hich can .e reduced . increasing phsical or pschologicaldistance or . utili'ing reinterpretation of "hat is happening or through otherrationali'ations6

One area of dominant ma;orit influence in the :nited States involves church!state relations6 *an Christians seem to "ant Christian!friendl doctrines to .emanifested in governmental pu.lic places, .ut man of them also identif "ith

constitutional, separation of church and state, limitations "hich preclude .latantinstances of church dominance in the pu.lic sphere6 &evertheless, some instancesseem to .e accepta.le including the phrases <one &ation under (od= and <$n (od e)rust= in the Pledge of Allegiance and the &ational *otto, respectivel6 Althoughmost Christians do not "orr a.out the discrepanc .et"een these t"o phrases andthe -irst Amendment3s Esta.lishment Clause #possi.l an instance of <hereignorance is .liss, 3tis foll to .e "ise=% and, conse7uentl, do not experiencean noticea.le cognitive dissonance from it, federal ;udges at the district andappeals court levels #and some Supreme Court @ustices through dicta in relateddecisions% have .een forced to formall decide cases .rought .efore the courtschallenging the constitutionalit of these t"o phrases "ith regard to theEsta.lishment Clause6 )here seems to .e an elevation of constitutional cognitivedissonance among these ;udges, "ho #at least% recogni'e that the potential ofEsta.lishment Clause conflict exists6 Resolution of the dissonance is accomplished

. ruling a phrase to .e unconstitutional #as "as done initiall . the &inthCircuit Court of Appeals for <one &ation under (od=% or reinterpreting the phrasesto mean something unrelated to the esta.lishment of religion or declaring <(od= to.e a term of ceremonial deism and, as such, having neither meaning nor religiousconnotation6 )hese latter t"o forms of resolution have hitherto apparentl reduceddissonance and preserved traditions6 &either of the t"o is likel to .e accepta.leto those initiating the challenges in the courts nor to man devout Christians "hoare una"are of "hat is theologicall lost in the argumentation6

)he de acto official religion of the :nited States seems to .e an am.iguousform of monotheism , compati.le "ith each of the A.rahamic religions, .utinsufficientl identified "ith them to the extent that there is a conflict "ith theEsta.lishment Clause of the -irst Amendment of the :6 S6 Constitution6 )his

minimi'ed conflict is o.tained . designating the god in <$n (od e )rust= and <one&ation under (od= #of the Pledge% as .eing not reall (od, .ut rather a deit fromthe 7uasi!religious tradition of <ceremonial deism= #not to .e confused "ith theunrelated philosophical!religious vie"point called deism% despite the strongltheistic arguments . advocates for these phrases6 )he .elief sstem containingthis deit has a "ide latitude of acceptance, thus permitting <.elievers= rangingfrom those "ho have .eliefs in a personal deit #similar to those of the A.rahamicfaiths% to those "ho are unconcerned .eond paing lip service to <theological=considerations6 )he deit of ceremonial deism #as a legall defined fiction fromvarious dicta . the Supreme Court% existing "ithin the civil religion consideredconsistent "ith the Esta.lishment Clause . man #this has et to .e decided upon



. the Supreme Court%, is a form of virtual realit in modern terms, analogous tothe )ooth -air or Santa Claus6 )his, of course, does not preclude the generalpopulation from accepting the "ord (od as referring to an actual entit even thoughit is a de minimis deit6



P&RT : R(P&R-G TH( )3)( 8(T/((- R(*G+US M&@+RT(S &-)

M-+RT(S

Cha!ter A A Basis for *oralit

)housands of ears ago, given the homogeneit of a local population in terms of.eliefs, it "ould .e understanda.le that the governing local legal sstem "ouldconstrain people in their choice of religion and .ehavior6 $n contemporar societ,ho"ever, "ith a considera.le diversit in its population, there is likel to .e ana.sence of agreement a.out religion and the .asis for la"s6 Ancient codes, such asthe 22 la"s of the Code of /ammura.i #ca. 0F2!098 BCE%, the 04 commandmentsof the #ca. 0488 BCE% *osaic Code, and the ver harsh Draconian code #ca. 20 BCE%,among others, attempted to provide a .asis for legal and moral conduct6

The Golden Rule (or Ethic of Reciprocity)

One principle that has served to organi'e approaches to legali'ing moralit isthe golden rule in one of its variants #or, as it is also kno"n, the ethic ofreciprocit%6 )his principle appears in .oth theistic and non!theistic socialenvironments and varies in its phrasing from culture to culture6 As indicated in

ikipedia, the golden rule ma appear in either a positive or a negative format1

)he (olden Rule or ethic of reciprocit is a maxim, ethical code or moralitthat essentiall states either of the follo"ing1

One should treat others as one "ould like others to treat oneself#directive form%6

One should not treat others in "as that one "ould not like to .etreated6

G-ootnotes omittedI #https1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiH(oldenJRule%

A sampling of vie"s across cultures and ages follo"s1

)he Code of /ammura.i #08 BC% dealt "ith the reciprocit of the )e( talionis in "as such as limiting retri.ution, as the did concepts ofretri.ution #literall an ee for an ee, a tooth for a tooth%6

)he (olden Rule existed among all the ma;or philosophical schools of AncientChina1 *ohism, )aoism, and Confucianism6

Buddha #Siddhartha (autama, c6 24 X c6 954 BC% made this principle one ofthe cornerstones of his ethics in the th centur BC6

According to Simon Black.urn, although the (olden Rule can .e found in someform in almost ever ethical tradition, the rule is sometimes claimed .Christianit as its o"n6 )he (olden Rule has .een attri.uted to @esus

of &a'areth, "ho used it to summari'e the )orah1 Do to others "hat ou "antthem to do to ou6 )his is the meaning of the la" of *oses and the teachingof the prophets #*atthe" 102 &C>, see also +uke 140%6

Confucianism

hat ou do not "ish for ourself, do not do to others6

/induism

One should never do that to another "hich one regards as in;urious to oneUs



o"n self6 )his, in .rief, is the rule of dharma6 Other .ehavior is due toselfish desires6 VBrihaspati, *aha.harata #Anusasana Parva, Section CL$$$, >erse %

/umanism

*an different sources claim the (olden Rule as a humanist principle1)ring to live according to the (olden Rule means tring to empathise "ith

other people, including those "ho ma .e ver different from us6 Empath isat the root of kindness, compassion, understanding and respect X 7ualitiesthat "e all appreciate .eing sho"n, "hoever "e are, "hatever "e think and"herever "e come from6 And although it isnUt possi.le to kno" "hat it reallfeels like to .e a different person or live in different circumstances andhave different life experiences, it isnUt difficult for most of us toimagine "hat "ould cause us suffering and to tr to avoid causing sufferingto others6 -or this reason man people find the (olden RuleUs corollar X donot treat people in a "a ou "ould not "ish to .e treated ourself X morepragmatic6 V*aria *ac+achlan, )hink /umanism

$slam

)he (olden Rule is implicitl expressed in some verses of the ûran, .ut isexplicitl declared in the saings of *uhammad6 A common transliteration is1

bAhe. li akheek ma tuhi.u li nafsik6 )his can .e translated as ishfor our .rother, "hat ou "ish for ourself or +ove our .rother asou love ourself6

$n $slam the (olden Rule is reserved solel for fello" *uslims6 ûran verse512F states1

*uhammad is the messenger of Allah and those "ho are "ith him arestrong against :n.elievers, #.ut% compassionate amongst each other6and "hilst there ma .e man verses that state that a *uslim should

love their .rother, the ûran makes it clear that *uslims are .ut asingle .rotherhood6

@ainism

$n @ainism, the golden rule is firml em.edded in its entire philosoph andcan .e seen in its clearest form in the doctrines of Ahimsa and ?arma6

)he follo"ing 7uotation from the Acaranga Sutra sums up the philosoph of@ainism1

&othing "hich .reathes, "hich exists, "hich lives, or "hich has essenceor potential of life, should .e destroed or ruled over, or su.;ugated,

or harmed, or denied of its essence or potential6

$n support of this )ruth, $ ask ou a 7uestion X $s sorro" or paindesira.le to ouN $f ou sa es it is, it "ould .e a lie6 $f ousa, &o, $t is not ou "ill .e expressing the truth6 @ust as sorro"or pain is not desira.le to ou, so it is to all "hich .reathe, exist,live or have an essence of life6 )o ou and all, it is undesira.le,and painful, and repugnant6

@udaism



)he earliest kno"n text of the positive form of the (olden Rule is thefollo"ing Bi.lical verse, "ritten c6 0488 BCE1

Mou shall not take vengeance or .ear a grudge against our kinsfolk6+ove our neigh.or as ourself1 $ am the +ORD6 V+eviticus 0F10

Platonism!

)he (olden Rule appears to .e present in at least one of Plato3s dialogues1

One should never do "rong in return, nor mistreat an man, no matterho" one has .een mistreated . him6 VPlato3s Socrates #Crito, 5Fc% #c6 5F X 4FF BC%

)aoism

)he sage has no interest of his o"n, .ut takes the interests of the people ashis o"n6 /e is kind to the kind he is also kind to the unkind1 for >irtue iskind6 /e is faithful to the faithful he is also faithful to the unfaithful1for >irtue is faithful6

V)ao )eh Ching, Chapter 5F

Regard our neigh.or3s gain as our o"n gain, and our neigh.or3s loss asour o"n loss6 V)3ai Shang ?an Ming P3ien

icca

)hese eight "ords the Rede fulfill, 3an e harm none do as e "ill6 V)he iccan Rede

/ere e these "ords and heed them "ell, the "ords of Dea, th *other (oddess,$ command thee thus, O children of the Earth, that that "hich e deemharmful unto thself, the ver same shall e .e for.idden from doing unto

another, for violence and hatred give rise to the same6 * command is thus,that e shall return all violence and hatred "ith peacefulness and love, form +a" is love unto all things6 Onl through love shall e have peace eaand veril, onl peace and love "ill cure the "orld, and su.due all evil6 V)he Book of as, Devotional icca

Excerpted from https1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiH(oldenJRule G-ootnotes omittedI6 )hissampling sho"s the role of the golden rule in a variet of diverse cultures in anattempt to formulate a "idel accepta.le .asis for a moral code6

An alternative approach has .een formulated . the philosopher, $mmanuel ?ant inhis proposed categorical imperative6 )he ?antian categorical imperative is atheoretical .asis for moral action that some find similar in its concerns to the

golden rule6 hile the golden rule, as stated positivel or negativel, descri.es.ehavior that the individual should engage in .ased on the individual3spreferences, the categorical imperative #in its various manifestations% states thatone should .ehave in a "a that "ould .e universall accepta.le in allcircumstances as appropriate .ehavior "ithout regard to the desires of theindividual6 An example #mentioned . others% illustrating the difficult offormulating such a universal principle involves telling the truth6 $s such a moralaction appropriate as a categorical imperativeN )he ans"er that has .een given isno .ecause, under some circumstances, the truth "ould .e ver detrimental, as inthe case of a murderer asking a kno"ledgea.le person a.out the location of themurderer3s potential victim6



#See https1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiHCategoricalJimperative for more information6%

e currentl live in a complex societ including people "ho differ in ethnic.ackground, have differing political vie"s, and have, as individuals, gro"n up"ithin differing religious environments and traditions, "hich ma .e maintainedthroughout life . the individual, a.andoned, modified, or replaced6 )his is incontrast to the relative uniformit of the $sraelites under *oses, "ho "erere7uired to .elieve in and "orship Mah"eh #and no other under penalt of death% as

part of the theocratic covenant esta.lished .et"een *oses, the $sraelites, andMah"eh6 Such uniformit in .elief and lifestle does not usuall exist in toda3s"orld, although pockets of uniformit do in some provincial geographical locations6Oddl, there seems to .e a prevalent .elief that the religious tradition oneexperienced in his or her ontogenetic development is the one true and validtradition6 Others are either not true or are partiall true "ith deficiencies6 Aprimar component of this tradition in the :nited States is "hether or not one<.elieves in (od= under the assumption that this is a uni7uel meaningfulstatement6 Agnostics and, especiall, ignostics "ould dispute this6

The Dostoevsky View (Belief in God and Morality)

$ncluded "ithin this sociall isolated tradition are concepts of <right and

"rong6= $n some religions #e.g.1

the A.rahamic religions% there are "rittendescriptions of "hat is right and "rong in the form of la"s and commandments6 )heseprovide a .asis for correct or moral .ehavior6 )hose "ho do not follo" theprescri.ed la"s and commandments are considered to .e .ehaving immorall6 )he;ustification for this distinction seems to derive from the suggestion .Dostoevsk3s character, <$f (od does not exist, everthing is permitted6= )hus,.elief in (od ;ustifies and re7uires moral .ehavior, and the a.sence of a .elief in(od results in immoral .ehavior6 A conse7uence of this seems to .e the idea thatatheists are immoral or .ad people, and theists are moral and good6 )he reader"ill, $ hope, see this as an oversimplification of realit, .ut one containing somevalidit6 -or example, the Pe" Research Center has conducted international survesover a succession of ears including 7uestions a.out moralit and religion6 As R6*c?a and /6 hitehouse state in their article, <Religion and *oralit=1

)he notion that religion is a precondition for moralit is "idespreadand deepl ingrained6 *ore than half of Americans share +auraSchlessingerUs .elief that moralit is impossi.le "ithout .elief in(od #Pe" Research Center, 288%, and in man countries this attitudeis far more prevalent #see -igure 0%6#http1HHpscnet6apa6orgH;ournalsH.ulH050H2H556html%

$n their -igure 0, entitled <*ust Believe in (od to .e *oralN=, percentages of theresponding population indicating <Mes= or <&o= are given for fort six countries6 Aseparate source of information, the lobal Study on 'omicide 3455, #. the :nited&ations Office on Drugs and Crime% provides homicide rate data for fort five ofthese same countries covering approximatel the same time period#http1HH"""6unodc6orgHdocumentsHcongressH.ackground!

informationHCrimeJStatisticsH(lo.alJStudJonJ/omicideJ28006pdf%6

/omicide Rates and the &ecessit of a Belief in (od

$llustration sho"s the relation .et"een a Belief in (od Re7uired for *oralitand /omicide Rates .ased on data from these t"o sources6 As can .e seen from thegraph, those countries "hich had larger percentages of people .elieving in thenecessit of a .elief in (od for moralit appear to have #except for those a.ove 8percent% a greater homicide rate than those "ith lo"er percentages6 A Pearsoncorrelation of 8649 indicates a moderate, .ut relia.le #p 8682%, association.et"een the varia.les6 $t does not, of course, indicate "h the association exists6



/omicide rates "ere considered instead of other crimes #e.g.1 rape, ro..er,assault, etc6% under the assumption that homicides are more likel to .e accuratelreported from countr to countr6 )he generali'ation from these data is that thosecountries in "hich there is a vie" that .elief in (od is re7uired for moralit #the<Dostoevsk vie"=% tend to have a higher homicide rate than those others "hosepopulation do not su.scri.e to the Dostoevsk vie"6

$llustration 6 Relation .et"een homicide rates and perceived necessitfor a .elief in (od for moralit in 59 countries6

/omicide Rates and Religiosit

A similar moderate and positive association #r K 8649, p 8682% is found "hendata from the lobal Study on 'omicide 3455 are related to percentage rates for<(lo.al Religiosit= in fift three of those corresponding countries reported inthe $&!(allup $nternational lobal Inde( o Religiosity and !theism@3453, )a.le 0#http1HH"""6"ingia6comH"e.HfilesHne"sH05HfileH056pdf%6 $llustration sho"s therelationship .et"een homicide rates and glo.al religiosit #as a percentage% .countr6



$llustration 6 )he relation .et"een homicide rates and percentage ofthe population self descri.ing themselves as a religious person in 94countries for "hich .oth a.scissa and ordinate data are availa.le6

/omicide Rates and Belief in (od

Belief in (od is the primar consideration for man in terms of its assumedrelevance to moral .ehavior6 $llustration is a graphic representation of therelation .et"een homicide rates and the percentage of a countr3s populationexpressing a .elief in (od6 Each data point on this graph represents the mean ofeither one, t"o, or three values #from as man surves%6 )he relationship #as isthe case in the previous t"o illustrations% indicates a moderate and positiveassociation #r K 8652, p 8680% .et"een the varia.les, suggesting #as a.ove% thatincreased .elief in (od is associated "ith #at least in some countries% anincreased homicide rate6 #Data G288!2809I from1http1HH"""6statista6comHstatisticsH24885Hglo.al!.elief!in!god!or!a!supreme!.eingHor http1HH"""6norc6orgHPD-sHBeliefsJa.outJ(odJReport6pdf #)a.le 0%or http1HH"""6"ingia6comH"e.HfilesHne"sH05HfileH056pdf%



$llustration 6 /omicide rate across countries as related to .elief in(od6 Each point is .ased on the mean of either one, t"o, or three valuesprovided . one, t"o, or three surves from 288 to 28096

As can .e seen in $llustrations !, homicide rates are not increased 0% . ana.sence of the necessit of a .elief in (od, 2% . a decrease in the overallreligiosit of a countr, or 4% an a.sence of a .elief in (od6 $n fact, theopposite seems to .e the case in all three graphs6 )he Dostoevsk vie" is notsupported . the criterion of homicide rate as a measure of moral .ehavior6

A Theoloical Basis for Morality

Assuming that, despite the a.sence of evidence noted in the previous paragraphsand graphs, there is a crptic Dostoevsk necessit for a .elief in a god and,additionall, there is a need for some kind of sstematic social structure toexplicitl state and enforce a moral code to .e follo"ed, "hat deit #or deities%should .e called upon to effectuate thisN

The Code o6 Hammurai

*arduk, the deit associated "ith the cit of Ba.lon, .ecame more significant"ith the rise in importance of Ba.lon, .ut it "as through a su.ordinate deit,Shamash, that legal influence supposedl developed6 )he Code of /ammura.i, datedvariousl from 2298 ! 098 BCE, consists of a set of 22 casuistic la"s delivered

#according to legend% . Shamash, the Ba.lonian god of ;ustice, to ?ing /ammura.i6)hese la"s dealt "ith man everda concerns .et"een individuals and served toprovide resolution of disputes, assessments of damage amounts to .e paid forindividual losses caused . another, determination of inheritance distri.utions.ased on relationship and status #e.g.1 "ife, slave, son, daughter%, etc6 )here"ere, also, penalties descri.ed for various legal infractions "ith the penaltiesranging from monetar paments #fines% to .e paid to one "ho had .een damaged tocutting off fingers, plucking out an ee, removal of an ear, or death of theresponsi.le person6 $n some cases penalties "ere not inevita.l determined aperson #or for some sexual infractions, t"o people% "ould .e .ound and thro"n intothe "ater "here the ma or ma not survive6 $n none of the 22 la"s "as there an



mention of incarceration, suggesting that there "ere no prisons at this time6 Someof the la"s had severe conse7uences for their infraction #le( talionis Van ee foran ee%, "hile others "ere more moderate6 Overall, penalties "ere less severe thanthose in the later #non!theological% code of Draco #ca. 20 BCE%, "hich consistedof "idel availa.le "ritten la"s #http1HH"""6.ritannica6comH.iographHDraco!(reek!la"giver%6

)he ad hoc nature of the individual la"s, and the a.sence of clear apodictic

pronouncements, seems to have limited the generalit of the Code of /ammura.i,except as possi.l a partial template for other la" codes6 See R6 -6 /arper, %he Code o 'ammurabi #0F85% Ghttp1HHoll6li.ertfund6orgHtitlesH02I for a listing ofthe 22 la"s and the ikipedia article on legal codes for a more complete listingof other codes #https1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiH+istJofJancientJlegalJcodes%6

The Mosaic Code ncluding the Ten Commandments

B *osaic Code #or +a" of *oses cf6 @oshua 140!49% $ mean the three versionsof the )en Commandments, as commented on in Part $, and the #primaril casuistic%la"s of Exodus, +eviticus, &um.ers, and Deuteronom, "hich have .een .elieved tohave .een "ritten . *oses under the direction of the $sraelite deit Mah"eh6 )hetotal num.er of la"s, as enumerated . *aimonides in his listing, is 04

#http1HH;e"ishencclopedia6comHarticlesH59!commandments!the!04%6 /e included afe" from the narrative chapters of (enesis in addition to other .ooks of the )orah6Assuming that this is an accurate description of "hat happened, "hat are thepossi.le theological conse7uences for its acceptanceN $n contrast to the /ammura.icCode, "hich "as monarchical, the *osaic Code is thoroughl theocratic and similar#or identical% to the current vie" of theonom descri.ed in Part $6

Theocracy versus Ecclesiocracy

Precision in terminolog re7uires consideration of a distinction .et"een theterms theocrac and ecclesiocrac6 A political sstem is a theocrac means that oneor more deities is directl responsi.le for the la"s ruling the .ehavior ofresidents "ithin the governing .oundaries of the theocrac6 $n contrast, anecclesiocrac is a political sstem in "hich there is an official group of

individuals possessing po"er, and usuall claiming authorit, from one or moredeities in order to rule over the .ehavior of residents "ithin the governing.oundaries of the ecclesiocrac6 )o the extent that Mah"eh communicated directl#or through the recogni'ed intermediar of *oses% "ith the $sraelites, follo"ingtheir departure from Egpt, "e have a theocrac6 hen there is a church structure#e.g.1 the Roman Catholic Church% that delivers doctrinal statements regulating the.ehavior of mem.ers of the Church, the structural Church is, effectivel, anecclesiocrac6 Because of intrinsic am.iguities "ithin theological language, amongother reasons, it seems that even the Oxford English Dictionar gets mattersconfused . conflating ecclesiocrac "ith theocrac in its definition of theocrac1

A form of government in "hich (od #or a deit% is recogni'ed as the king orimmediate ruler, and his la"s are taken as the statute!.ook of the kingdom,

these la"s .eing usuall administered . a priestl order as his ministersand agents hence #loosel% a sstem of government . a sacerdotal order,claiming a divine commission also, a state so governed1 esp6 applied to thecommon"ealth of $srael from the exodus to the election of Saul as king6#http1HH"""6oed6comHvie"HEntrH28845Nredirected-romKtheocracTeid%

A possi.le reason for the confusion .et"een theocrac and ecclesiocrac lies inthe difficult in validl attaining a true theocrac6 A num.er of re7uirements must.e met for the theocrac to "ork6 One or more deities "ho interact to some extent"ith people #thus, eliminating pantheism and philosophical deism% "ill need toexist6 ho, exactl, does the communicating .et"een people and the deit #or

http://www.britannica.com/biography/Draco-Greek

http://www.britannica.com/biography/Draco-Greek



deities%N )hat is, must it al"as .e Shamash delivering la"s to /ammura.i #orsomeone else% or ma *arduk, the chief Ba.lonian deit, .pass Shamash onoccasionN hat accurac is there .et"een the deitiesN Consider the 7uer of *atthe"215 #7uoting Psalm 2210% <666* (od, m (od, "h hast thou forsaken meN= )hepresumption that the deities are in agreement and communication ma .e inaccurate6

Theocratic Concerns

*ore significantl, for those "ho .elieve in the inerrant deliver of commandsfrom a deit through vocal or "ritten means #such as the presumed dictation of the)en Commandments%, conse7uences can .e severe if some of the life!or!deathstatements or commands .ecome corrupted in communication6 Before ela.orating manalsis of this, let me list some conditions "hich, $ think, "ill .e accepta.le tothose favoring a theocratic .asis for governmental moralit1

06 At least one theistic god exists and this deit communicatesunam.iguousl "ith people6

26 One such god is Mah"eh, the tri.al deit of the $sraelites and is author of each of the sets of the <)en Commandments= #including the <Ethical Decalogue=%6

46 )he )en Commandments #Ethical Decalogue% constitutes one suchsource to <666provide the moral .ackground of the Declarationof $ndependence and the foundation of our legal tradition6=#As posted "ith the *cCrear Count pla7ue containing the )enCommandments, previousl 7uoted in Part $6%

56 (iven that, in a prefator <Short Statement= to its <)he Chicago Statement on Bi.lical $nerranc,= "e find the follo"ing1

Being "holl and ver.all (od!given, Scripture is "ithouterror or fault in all its teaching, no less in "hat itstates a.out (od3s acts in creation, a.out the events of"orld histor, and a.out its o"n literar origins under

(od, than in its "itness to (od3s saving grace inindividual lives6

)he authorit of Scripture is inescapa.l impaired if thistotal divine inerranc is in an "a limited or disregarded,or made relative to a vie" of truth contrar to the Bi.le3so"n and such lapses .ring serious loss to .oth theindividual and the Church6

and, specificall, #as part of the formal text%1

Article L$

e affirm that Scripture, having .een given . divineinspiration, is infalli.le, so that, far from misleadingus, it is true and relia.le in all the matters it addresses6e den that it is possi.le for the Bi.le to .e at the sametime infalli.le and errant in its assertions6 $nfalli.ilitand inerranc ma .e distinguished, .ut not separated6

Article L$$

e affirm that Scripture in its entiret is inerrant, .eingfree from all falsehood, fraud, or deceit6 e den that



Bi.lical infalli.ilit and inerranc are limited to spiritual,religious, or redemptive themes, exclusive of assertions inthe fields of histor and science6 e further den thatscientific hpotheses a.out earth histor ma properl .e usedto overturn the teaching of Scripture on creation and the flood6

#http1HH"""6ets;ets6orgHfilesHdocumentsHChicagoJStatement6pdf%

Suppose the preceding conditions 0!5 are satisfied, and "e have an esta.lished

theocrac .ased on the Ethical Decalogue #the set of )en Commandments familiar tomost people% and, also, Scripture descri.ed under the Chicago Statement6 /o" doesthis theological sstem "orkN )o the extent that "e have agreement a.out the .asisand source of moralit, "e have ans"ered #and satisfied% the Dostoevsk concern6 eno" have a statement of a.solute moralit "hich seems to .e accepta.le to ama;orit of :6 S6 citi'ens #suggested . surve results mentioned in Part $indicating pu.lic desire for the posting of the )en Commandments, "hatever theare, in pu.lic .uildings%6 )here are, ho"ever, some pro.lems "ith this form ofa.solute moralit, .ased on o.servations made in Part $ a.out the conse7uences ofthe apodictic la"s given . Mah"eh6 Suppose $, as an enthusiastic .elieving mem.erof the theocratic societ, em.race the )en Commandments as m moral authorit #or,in the summari'ing "ords of @ustice Scalia in "cCreary v. !C)# o *entucy , thoseso identified "hich <666 "ere given . (od to *oses, and are divine prescriptions

for a virtuous life=%6 Circumstances ma arise in "hich $ find some 7uestionsconcerning "hat $ should do6 +et me illustrate these concerns "ith the follo"ing1

06 $f $ encounter someone "ho is evidentl "orshiping another god#such as eus, Baal, Satan%, am $ acting immorall if $ do notstone this person to death as re7uired . Deuteronom 041!F andDeuteronom 012!9N Or do $ report this apostate to the authoritiesNhat a.out the person "orshiping Allah, "ho is, for some, the same godN

26 $f $ encounter someone "orking on Saturda morning, am $ actingimmorall if $ do not stone this person to death, as commanded .Exodus 40109 and &um.ers 09142!4N

46 $f $ encounter a child "ho is considered . his parents to .e

stu..orn, am $ acting immorall if $ do not assist in stoningthis child to death, as re7uired . Deuteronom 2010!20N

56 $f $ "itness adulter .et"een a person and another person3s "ife,am $ acting immorall if $ do not have .oth put to death asstated in +eviticus 28108!02N

As one can readil see, encountering these transgressions raises pro.lems #althoughnot for the theonomist "ho .elieves in literall follo"ing *osaic la"%6 )he readerma think $ am cherr picking m examples, .ut please note that these are casuisticand une7uivocal conse7uences of four of the )en Commandments #or, more accuratel,of t"o of the three sets of )en Commandments, although "orshiping other gods and"orking on the sa..ath are prohi.ited in all three sets%6 )he severit of the

re7uired penalties is not at all out of character for Mah"eh, "ho not onlcondones, .ut also commands, infanticide among other atrocities in .attle #&um.ers4010!0 and $ Samuel 0914% and "ho exterminated all .ut eight men, "omen,children, and infants #and most animals% "ith the &oachic flood #(enesisChapters , , and %6 Restating and transliterating the famous 7uestion ofSocrates in the Dialogue, Euthphro #http1HHclassics6mit6eduHPlatoHeuthfro6html%,in terms of Mah"eh of the Pentateuch1 $s a command from Mah"eh good .ecause Mah"ehcommands it or does Mah"eh command it .ecause it is goodN

*an theists #"ithin the A.rahamic tradition% have difficult reconciling thesimultaneousl held vie"s that (od is all kno"ing #omniscient%, all po"erful



#omnipotent%, good, and that evil exists, .ecause of the apparent inconsistenc ofthese vie"s6 $f "e resolve one horn of the Euthphro dilemma . concluding thatthere is an external standard . "hich (od ma .e evaluated #i.e., Mah"eh commandsit .ecause it is good%, then it "ould appear that Mah"eh, the deit of *oses andthe $sraelites and author of the )en Commandments, . contemporar standards, "ouldappear to .e either highl immoral, or suffering from primar pschopath, or .oth6$ am not talking here a.out the existence of evil in the "orld #"ith the .lamefre7uentl ascri.ed to another deit called Satan, "ho reportedl seems to .e

commensurate in po"er "ith Mah"eh%6 $nstead, $ am referring to the descri.edactions of Mah"eh in the Pentateuch6 )his record does not seem to reveal theactions of a good god unless one considers genocide, infanticide, putting to deatho.streperous children, adulterers, people "ho "orship gods other that Mah"eh, orsa..ath violators to .e .enevolent actions6

$ think it can .e said that the Dostoevsk vie", although superficiallattractive in its ;ustification of .elief in a deit #providing it is the correctdeit%, is fundamentall fla"ed6 *oral .ehavior in the :nited States seems tooccur, de acto, as a conse7uence of rules adopted . the #more or less% democraticagreement of the people in something resem.ling a social contract in "hich thegoverning .odies are provided po"ers that are to .e used to ena.le effectivepopulation functioning, "hile retaining for individuals those rights and privileges

not needed . the governing authorities #as in the Bill of Rights%6



Cha!ter $# Church-State Separation in the #nited States

/ho is the God o6 Ceremonial )eism0

-irst of all, it is not the deit of philosophical or theological deism, asdefined . the Oxford English Dictionar #previousl mentioned%6 Another vie" isgiven . >ergilius -erm3s #Editor%, !n Encyclopedia o Religion, as follo"s1

deism1 #+at6 deus god% An important rationalistic movement in Englandarising in the seventeenth centur and continuing through the eighteenth6Deism asserted .elief in one (od, creator of the universe, .ut regardedhim as detached from the "orld and making no revelation6 )he light ofnature lumen naturae i.e., reason, "as man3s onl reliance6 )hus "hilethere "as a "ide diversit in the opinions of the several deists, the"ere at one in their opposition to revealed religion in general and toChristianit in particular6 )he Old and &e" )estament alike arousedtheir attack as a collection of unauthentic and fa.ulous .ooks6 Y6G*orton Scott EnslinI #https1HHarchive6orgHdetailsHencclopediaofre0F59ferm%

-or more extensive descriptions of deism see https1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiHDeism

and http1HH"""6religioustolerance6orgHdeism6htm6

$n contrast, the ceremonial deism of Dean Rosto", @ustice O3Conner, @usticeBrennan, and others, reveals a ;uristicall emasculated #in status and po"er% de minimus theistic deit "hose name #(od% can .e used in governmental speechproviding a aAade of theism "hile, at the same time, preserving the status of adeit sufficientl insignificant as to not offend the Constitution6 e have a deit"ho is a technical legal fiction, remaining Constitutional, .ut "ho preserves theillusion of religious presence6 :ltimatel, this ma .e a Prrhic victor for those"ho "ish to preserve (od at all costs6 hen #or if% it .ecomes evident that the de

acto version of the Pledge of Allegiance has .ecome #effectivel%, <$ pledgeallegiance to the -lag of the :nited States of America, and to the Repu.lic for"hich it stands, one &ation under an insignificant (od, indivisi.le, "ith li.ertand ;ustice for all,= some ma "onder, <here did the (od of A.raham, $saac, and

@aco. goN=

Such a concern seems to have .een expressed . Circuit @udge *anion in an$llinois case involving the Pledge and the Esta.lishment Clause6 /e stated in aconcurring opinion #in part%1

$ concur "ith the court3s fine opinion and conclusion that reciting thePledge of Allegiance does not offend the esta.lishment clause6 $ "riteseparatel to emphasi'e that "e need not totall denude the Pledge .reducing its language to the lo"est common denominator of ceremonial deismas favored . @ustice Brennan6 A civic reference to (od does not .ecomepermissi.le under the -irst Amendment onl "hen it has .een repeated sooften that it is sapped of religious significance6 Such an approach implies

that phrases like in (od "e trust or under (od, "hen initiall used onAmerican coinage or in the Pledge of Allegiance, violated the esta.lishmentclause .ecause the had not et .een rendered meaningless . repetitive use6#School District 20 of heeling )o"nship F8 -62d 54 #th Cir6 0FF2%%

So, "here did (od goN As in the the case of the vanishing Cheshire Cat in Alicein onderland, through successive applications of the interpretation of ceremonialdeism, motivated . cognitive dissonance reduction, "e have a deit diminished insignificance to the point that <under (od= in the "ords of @ustice Brennan in"arsh v. Chambers no longer has <an true religious significance6= )his theologicaltrade!off has .een made in order to make, for example, in the "ords of the Pledge,



"hat seems to .e a clear declaration of religious .elief something other than astatement of religious .elief6 )he proposers of legislation adding <under (od= tothe Pledge #Representative Ra.aut and Senator -erguson%, the pastor "ho proposed itin a sermon #Dochert%, and President Eisenho"er, "ho signed it into la", evidentlconsidered it to .e an indication of religious .elief6 As 7uoted earlier, all four"ould su.scri.e to the summar statement of @udge (ood"in of the &inth CircuitCourt of Appeals in his decision, <)o recite the Pledge is not to descri.e the:nited States instead it is to s"ear allegiance to the values for "hich the flag

stands1 unit, individualit, li.ert, ;ustice, andVsince 0F95Vmonotheism6=#http1HH"""6constitution6orgHusfcHFHne"do"JvJus6htm%

A distinction that can .e made "ith regard to the use of <(od= in phrases such as<under (od,= <so help me (od,= <$n (od "e trust,= etc6, is that in some cases theseare officiall mandated . la", in "hich case the Esta.lishment Clause applies andshould render such use unconstitutional6 $n other cases, such as a Presidentials"earing in, and through his or her o"n election adds an optional phrase, <so helpme (od= or <so help me Allah= to the oath of office, "hich is not mandated, noConstitutional offense exists6 Similarl, "hen a politician #or anone else% usesthe "ord <(od= in a speech, he or she is simpl exercising a person3s right of freeConstitutionall permissi.le speech6 $t is the official, state!recogni'ed, use ofreligion that raises Constitutional issues and makes the state religiousl

non!neutral6 )he examples of historical mentions of (od listed . @ustice Rehn7uistin El rove #niied School District v. /e0do0 #@ustice O3Conner concurring%include man elective references to (od "hich are as Constitutional as descri.ingscientific polling results a.out religion incorporating the "ord <(od6= At issueare those instances of governmentall recogni'ed re7uirements, commands, ormandates to use the "ord in a religiousl non!neutral manner6 )he distinction hereis .ased on the idea that the person speaking is representing his or her o"n vie"s#"ithout imposing them on others%, "hile a governmentall sponsored phrase #suchas, <under (od,= <$n (od "e trust,= or <so help me (od=% represents the vie"s ofthe government #and pro.a.le imposition of those vie"s on others%, in "hich caseConstitutional concerns pertain6

Some Concluding Suggestions and +servations

$n order to reduce religious divisiveness $ propose the follo"ing changes "hichare limited to governmental #and not private% actions1

06 Remove the phrase <under (od= from the Pledge of Allegiance6 B so doing there "ill .e an increase in the num.er of people "ho

can sa it and an elimination of the stigma for those una.le tosa it for religious reasons6 Besides this, the countr surviveduntil 0F95 "ithout it6

26 )he phrase <$& (OD E )R:S)= should .e removed from currencafter all,does the reader kno" "hich side of a dime or 7uarterit is onN Pro.a.l not6 $ts removal "ould have little impact6

46 )he inclusion of <so help me (od= in oaths should .e eliminated .ecause of the pre;udicial effects pu.lic refusal to take it ma have on ;urors and others6 (iven that %orcaso v. ,atins "as

decided . a unanimous Supreme Court in 0F0 #.ased on religious freedom grounds%, it is strange that it appears in oaths toda6

56 Change the official :nited States motto from <$n (od e )rust= to <$n (od Some of :s )rust= #for a more accurate statement%, or to <E Pluribus #num= #"hich served for man ears as a de acto

motto as more accurate and less divisive%6



)hese suggestions are not made in the nave .elief that the "ill reali'ed"ithin m lifetime6 )he serve as goals indicating concerns that some, particularlthose in minorit religious groups, have in contemporar societ6 )he primarconcern $ have is one of religious freedom, "hich re7uires strong separation ofchurch and state6 )his separation is implied in the Article >$ and the -irstAmendment of the :6 S6 Constitution6 Additionall, as Article 0 of the :nited&ations :niversal Declaration of /uman Rights states1

Everone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religionthis right includes freedom to change his religion or .elief, and freedom,

either alone or in communit "ith others and in pu.lic or private, tomanifest his religion or .elief in teaching, practice, "orship ando.servance6 #http1HH"""6un6orgHenHdocumentsHudhrH%

-reedom of religion is, to some extent, recogni'ed internationall, as indicated .the :niversal Declaration of /uman Rights6 * hope is that freedom of religion andreligious tolerance #see http1HH"""6religioustolerance6orgH for a large collectionof articles covering a range of religions% "ill increase6 $ detect ha'ards in thistrend "hen attempts are successfull made to insert governmental support for somereligious .elief sstems over others6 :suall such attempts #e.g.1 <under (od=%

seem to .e made in the .elief that the governmental support is universallaccepta.le "hen it is not to certain adherents of minorit religious vie"points6 $am reminded of the o.;ections of man people to the removal of government sponsoredpraer in pu.lic schools6 $ think most o.;ectors have the impression that thepraer in 7uestion is one the find accepta.le, addressed to their preferred deit,and do not consider praers to Allah, Satan, or other deities6 $t is, also, thecase that private individual praers . students continue to .e permitted "ithoutoffense to the :6 S6 Constitution #although it ma seem strange to some, "hen apraer re7uesting help on a test is given, that the deit should .e called upon asan accessor in cheating%6

And there is the danger of theological creep in "hich a change ma .e made thatis sufficientl de minimis to .e not that o.;ectiona.le, alone, .ut "hen added to

others can .e significant6 $n m sampling of examples from &a'i (erman #in Part$$%, some "ere perceived this "a .ecause of limited applica.ilit6 $n vie" of theincremental increase in severit #and pschological distance .et"een @e"s and therest of the (erman population% one is reminded of the famous statement of Pastor*artin &iemQller1

-irst the came for the Socialists, and $ did not speak outV Because $ "as not a Socialist6

)hen the came for the )rade :nionists, and $ did not speak outV Because $ "as not a )rade :nionist6

)hen the came for the @e"s, and $ did not speak outV

Because $ "as not a @e"6

)hen the came for meVand there "as no one left to speak for me6#http1HH"""6ushmm6orgH"lcHenHarticle6phpN*odule$dK08884F2%

)hose having minorit religious vie"pointsVand some having ma;orit religiousvie"pointsVtend to .e ver sensitive to legal changes that provide increasedsupport to ma;orit religions .ecause, over time, cumulative changes can have theeffect of making those "ith minorit vie"s second!class citi'ens6 As stated .@ustice O3Conner in her description of the endorsement test, <Endorsement sends amessage to nonadherents that the are outsiders, not full mem.ers of the political

http://www.religioustolerance.org/

http://www.religioustolerance.org/



communit, and an accompaning message to adherents that the are insiders, favoredmem.ers of the political communit6= #)ynch v. Donnelly % &or should the adherentsof Christianit as a ma;orit religion .e content "ith the direction of the changes.eing made6 )he (od of <under (od= in the Pledge of Allegiance is, through asuccession of court decisions, a god of ceremonial deism, unrelated to the (od ofA.raham, $saac, and @aco. and unrelated to the (od of Senator -erguson, "hosponsored the change in the Pledge in 0F956 /e stated in the Senate1

$ have felt that the Pledge of Allegiance to our -lag "hich standsfor the :nited States of America should recogni'e the Creator "ho"e reall .elieve is in control of the destinies of this (reatRepu.lic6 #088 Cong6 Rec6 45%

$ have no o.;ection at all if someone .elieves #and sas% that the :nited States isa &ation under (od #or an other deit% . their o"n election6 )he pro.lem arises"hen there is governmental or official enforcement of a declaration of this kind ofreligious statement resulting in the government no longer .eing neutral "ith regardto religion6 )his should .e of concern to anone6 Preservation of a strongseparation .et"een church and state ma .e particularl desira.le #even for those"ho do not find it so at the present time% "ith the occurrence of future religiousdemographic changes that ma affect current dominant!su.ordinate religious status

relationships6

C+-C*US+- T+ P&RT

$n comparing the ethic of reciprocit #golden rule% and various theologicall.ased approaches to moralit, it seems that there "ill .e a high pro.a.ilit offundamental disagreement among individuals if theologicall .ased sets of apodicticand casuistic la"s are adopted unless everone in the group has #or is made tohave% the same theological orientation6 $n a pluralistic societ, as in the :nitedStates, this is not the case6 *an divergent theological vie"s exist "ith theconse7uence that, although some moral la"s are generall accepted, some are not6)hose accepted, such as opposition to murder, theft, and some instances of ling,are likel to have .een accepted on the .asis of the golden rule #in one of its

variants% rather than for theological reasons or, possi.l, .oth #since the threeinstances mentioned are included in the Code of /ammura.i and the EthicalDecalogue%6 As indicated for homicide, the need for a theological .elief in (od isevidentl not necessar for ethical #i.e., do not murder% .ehavior and ma possi.lact against it6 )his ma .e more striking in the extreme historical cases of autos

de of the Spanish, Portuguese, *exican, and Peruvian $n7uisitions and #recentl%of the militant activit of the $slamic State in $ra7 and +evant #$S$+% in "hich a.elief in (od or Allah provided ;ustification for killing #as is, also, the caseunder *osaic la"% of heretics and apostates6 A .elief in the a.solute truth ofone3s vie"s #or the corollar vie" of inerranc and infalli.ilit of Scripture%"ithout the restraints of reason, discussion, and consideration of alternativeconcerns #as the might .e introduced under the golden rule% ma have ver seriousconse7uences and generate a theologicall induced ethical .lindness6 )heseconse7uences can .e reduced in severit #or prevented% . ensuring that those "hodo not su.scri.e to the <a.solute truth= and <inerranc and infalli.ilit ofScripture= are protected through a strong separation of church and state andresulting religious freedomVas provided . Article >$ and the -irst Amendment ofthe :nited States Constitution6

C+-C*US+- T+ TH( 8++E

$n this .ook $ have included numerous arguments and readil availa.le sourcesrelating to freedom of and from religion and o.servations a.out popularl acceptedvie"s of the )en Commandments, religious expressions, and legal re7uirements #e.g.,



<so help me (od= in oaths% that most people pro.a.l do not think a.out6 $ .elievethat more considered attention should .e given to these arguments and concerns6)he ma .e of minor significance to most people .ecause of their adoption of "hatsome refer to as <civil religion= in "hich the pu.licl su.scri.e to one of thema;orit religions "ithout a need for understanding its tenets6 #-or ela.orationsee https1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiHAmericanJcivilJreligion6 An alternative sourceis http1HH"""6ne""orldencclopedia6orgHentrHAmericanJcivilJreligion6% +egall,ho"ever, m vie"s could hardl .e more appropriatel expressed than those included

in the statement given . @ustice /ugo Black in his decision for the Court inEverson v. Board o Education as follo"s1

)he 3esta.lishment of religion3 clause of the -irst Amendment means at leastthis1 &either a state nor the -ederal (overnment can set up a church6 &eithercan pass la"s "hich aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer onereligion over another6 &either can force nor influence a person to go to orto remain a"a from church against his "ill or force him to profess a .eliefor dis.elief in an religion6 &o person can .e punished for entertaining orprofessing religious .eliefs or dis.eliefs, for church attendance or non!attendance6 &o tax in an amount, large or small, can .e levied to supportan religious activities or institutions, "hatever the ma .e called, or"hatever GformI the ma adopt to teach or practice religion6 &either a state

nor the -ederal (overnment can, openl or secretl, participate in theaffairs of an religious organi'ations or groups and vice versa6 $n the "ordsof @efferson, the clause against esta.lishment of religion . la" "asintended to erect 3a "all of separation .et"een Church and State63#http1HHcasela"6findla"6comHus!supreme!courtH448H06html%

)his .ook is a criti7ue of vie"points, slogans, and adherence to literalBi.lical pronouncements and la"s that entangle church and state #including someinvolving civil religion%6 $ have attempted to sho" ho" nearl universall acceptedopinions or traditions #e.g., the )en Commandments% are, upon examination, highl7uestiona.le as societal regulations and also dou.tful as to constitutionalit asthe are incorporated into la" in the :nited States6 )he philosopher Socratesstated in !pology1 according to Plato, <666an unexamined life is not "orth

living6666= #https1HHarchive6orgHdetailsHtrialanddeathofs88platiala% $f ou read.et"een the lines of this .ook, $ think ou might accuratel guess that $ .elievean unexamined religious life is not "orth living6 $ can see that much ofcontemporar religion ma .e of limited value .ecause of an a.sence of evidence forit or clarit in its statements #or .oth%6 &evertheless, there is a definite senseof a"e that $ experience "hen $ o.serve the night sk "ith m small telescope #andvicariousl through the /u..le Space )elescope%6 Ans"ers to 7uestions $ have aregraduated in pro.a.ilit of .eing correct6 )hose ans"ers that are .ased on ideasand kno"ledge formed and "ritten thousands of ears ago seem to have a lo"pro.a.ilit of .eing correct unless "hatever is stated can .e currentl replicated6)he "ater displacement effect noticed . Archimedes "hen he made his famous#possi.l legendar% exclamation of Eureka as he stepped into his .ath is as validtoda #.ecause it is replica.le% as it "as over 2888 ears ago6 A Bi.licalstatement is at most an hpothesisVnot evidenceVof "hat ma possi.l .e realit6

:nfortunatel, some have adopted the vie" expressed . the unkno"n author #possi.lPaul% of the letter to the /e.re"s that, <&o" faith is the su.stance of thingshoped for, the evidence of things not seen6= #/e.re"s 0010% )he first half of thestatement ma .e useful as an hpothesis, .ut faith is not accepta.le as evidence. an scientific criterion6 Met, some people act as if their faith #or strongfaithVto .e emphatic% ;ustifies "hatever conclusions the form .ased on faithalone6 hen there is evidence that contradicts vie"s .ased on faith, the prudentthing is to accept the evidence and suspend the statements of faith6

)his is not a .ook a.out religion and, certainl, not a.out m o"n theologicalvie"s6 $ take no position "ith regard to the 7uestion of "hether the class of gods

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_civil_religion

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/American_civil_religion

https://archive.org/details/trialanddeathofs00platiala

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_civil_religion

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/American_civil_religion

https://archive.org/details/trialanddeathofs00platiala



is composed of one or more or empt6 )he tri.al deit, Mah"eh, as descri.ed in thePentateuch does seem to .e impro.a.le, .ut is consistent in characteristics "iththe deit of Christianit "ho re7uires .elief under penalt of spending an eternalafterlife existence in hell6 Different Christion denominations specif differentcriteria for selection into heaven or hell6 )he Catholic Church descri.es hell #inpart% in the follo"ing "a in the Catechism o the Catholic Church1

@esus often speaks of (ehenna of the un7uencha.le fire reserved for those

"ho to the end of their lives refuse to .elieve and .e converted, "here .othsoul and .od can .e lost6 @esus solemnl proclaims that he "ill send hisangels, and the "ill gather 6 6 6 all evil doers, and thro" them into thefurnace of fire, and that he "ill pronounce the condemnation1 Depart fromme, ou cursed, into the eternal fire_

)he teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternit6$mmediatel after death the souls of those "ho die in a state of mortal sindescend into hell, "here the suffer the punishments of hell, eternal fire6)he chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from (od, in "hom aloneman can possess the life and happiness for "hich he "as created and for "hichhe longs6 G&otes omittedI#http1HH"""6vatican6vaHarchiveHE&(8809HJJP2O6/)*%

)his is a .ook concerned "ith religious freedom and the resulting church!statedisputes that have occurred over the past centur6 $ recogni'e the fact that thereare values for man people in religion6 Religion can provide comfort for people ina variet of "as through ceremonial activities, social interaction, a "orldvie",hope for the future, participation in providing help and "elfare to others #orreceiving it, if necessar%, among other .enefits6 $n dealing "ith the the greater7uestions of life and interactions "ith other people, religion ma provide theans"ers and social environment appropriate for the individual6 hether true or not,it permits one "ho adheres to such a religion to more pleasantl live6 +iteralacceptance of all of the parts of the religion is not necessar for the comfortingeffect it provides6 -or those "ho prefer a "orldvie" that is more in agreement "ithmodern science, there are man secular approaches and, also, modern religious

organi'ations "hich can facilitate one3s existential attempts to find personalmeaning in a universe that ma or ma not have an6



&PP(-)J

)a.le 0A1 Selected Alpha.etical +isting of Some -irst Amendment Related Decisions

A.ington School District v6 Schempp, 45 :6S6 284 #0F4%Adarand Constructors, $nc6 v6 *ineta, 945 :6S6 084 #2880%Adler v6 Board of Ed6 of Cit of &e" Mork, #0F92%

Agostini v6 -elton #0FF%Alleghen Count v6 (reater Pitts.urgh AC+:, 5F2 :6S6 94 #0FF%Allen v6 right, 5 :6S6 4 #0F5%American Communications Association v6 Douds #0F98%Arono" v6 :nited States, 542 -6 2d 252 ! Court of Appeals, Fth Circuit 0F8Attorne (eneral v6 Desilets, 50 *ass6 40 #0FF5%Baird v6 Attorne (eneral, 40 *ass6 50 #0F%Barnes!allace v6 Cit of San Diego, !!! -64d !!!!, 2802 + 20450 #Fth Cir6 2802%Bauchman v6 est /igh School, 042 -6 4d 952 ! Court of Appeals, #08th Circuit 0FF%Board of Education of the estside Communit Schools v6 *ergens #0FF8%Bo"en v6 Ro #0F%Boa;ian v6 (at'unis, 202 -64d 0 #0st Cir6 2888%Brad"ell v6 State, 4 :6S6 048 #04%

Bro"n v6 Bd6 of Educ6, 45 :6S6 54 #0F95%Bro"n v6 oodland @oint :nified Sch6 Dist6, 2 -64d 044 #Fth Cir6 0FF5%Capitol S7uare Revie" [ Advisor Board v6 Pinette, 909 :6S6 94, 9 #0FF9%Chaplinsk v6 &e" /ampshire #0F52%Coffee!Rich, $nc6 v6 CommUr of Pu.lic /ealth, 45 *ass6 505 #0F9%Colo v6 )reasurer [ Receiver (eneral, 4 *ass6 998 #0FF%Commack Self!Serv6 ?osher *eats, $nc6 v6 eiss, 2F5 -64d 509 #2d Cir6 2882%Common"ealth v6 @ohnson, 48F *ass6 5 #0F50%Common"ealth v6 eston, 6, 599 *ass6 25 #288F%Communist Part of $ndiana v6 hitcom., #0F5%Corporation of Presiding Bishop v6 Amos, 54 :6S6 42 #0F%Cote!hitacre v6 DepUt of Pu.6 /ealth, 55 *ass6 498 #288%Count of Alleghen v6 AC+:, 5F2 :6S6 94 #0FF%Cramp v6 Board of Pu.lic $nstruction, #0F0%

Croft v6 Perr, 25 -64d 09 #9th Cir6 2808%Cro"le v6 Smithsonian $nst6, 4 -62d 4 #D6C6 Cir6 0F8%DeStefano v6 Emergenc /ousing (roup $nc6, 25 -64d 4F #2nd Cir6 2880%DuPont v6 CommUr of Corr6, 55 *ass6 4F #288%Edgar v6 *$)E Corp6, 59 :6S6 25 #0F2%Ed"ards v6 Aguillard #0F%Elk (rove :nified Sch6 Dist6 v6 &e"do", 952 :6S6 0 #2885%Emploment Div6 v6 Smith, 5F5 :6S6 2 #0FF8%Engel v6 >itale, 48 :6S6 520 #0F2%English v6 &e" England *ed6 Ctr6, 589 *ass6 524 #0FF%Epperson v6 Ark6, 4F4 :6S6 F #0F%Everson v6 Bd6 of Educ6,448 :6S6 0 #0F5%-edele v6 Sch6 Comm6 of est"ood, 502 *ass6 008 #0FF2%

-inch v6 Common"ealth /ealth $ns6 Connector Auth6, 59F *ass6 99 #2800%-reedom -rom Religion -ound6 v6 /anover Sch6 Dist6, 2 -64d 0 #0st Cir6 2808%(allo"a v6 )o"n of (reece, 0 -64d 28 #2802%(arner v6 Board of Pu.lic orks, #0F90%(alor v6 :nited States, 5 -64d 205 #@an6 24, 0FF%(oldman v6 ein.erger #0F%(on'ales v6 O Centro Espirita Beneficente :niao do >egetal #288%(ood &e"s Clu. v6 *ilford Central Sch6, 944 :6S6 F #2880%(oodridge v6 Department of Pu.lic /ealth, 558 *ass6 48F #2884%(rand Rapids School District v6 Ball, 54 :6S6 44 #0F9%/ighto"er v6 Cit of Boston, F4 -64d 0 #0st Cir6 2802%



$n re Opinion of the @ustices to the Senate, 558 *ass6 0280 #2885%$ncantalupo v6 +a"rence :nion -ree Sch6 Dist6 &o6 09, 48 -6 AppUx 9F #2d Cir62808%@ones v6 >an andt, 5 :6S6 209 #05%@ones v6 >an'andt, 2 *c+ean 9F #Ohio Cir6 Ct6 054%?eplinger v6 :nited States, 288 + 05995 #*6D6 Pa6 288%?eishian v6 Board of Regents, #0F9%?idd v6 O.ama 4 -ed6 Appx6 2 #D6C6 Cir6 2808%

+am.3s Chapel v6 Center *oriches :nion -ree School District #0FF4%+arkin v6 (rendelUs Den, $nc6, 59F :6S6 00 #0F2%+arson v6 >alente, 59 :6S6 22 #0F2%+ee v6 eisman, 989 :6S6 9 #0FF2%+emon v6 ?urt'man #0F0%+oving v6 Common"ealth of >irginia, 4 :6S6 0 #0F%+nch v6 Donnell, 59 :6S6 #0F5%*arsh v6 Cham.ers #0F5%*cCollum v6 Board of Education, 444 :6S6 284 #0F5%*cCrear Count v6 AC+: of ?entuck, 959 :6S6 55 #2889%*cDaniel v6 Pat #0F%*c(o"an v6 *arland, 4 :6S6 528 #0F0%*inersville v6 (o.itas, 408 :6S6 9 #0F58%

*itchell v6 /elms #2888%*ers v6 +oudoun Cnt6 Pu.6 Sch6, 50 -64d 4F9 #5th Cir6 2889%&ational -ederation of $ndependent Business v6 Se.elius, 9 :6S6 JJJJ #2802%&e"do" v6 Bush, 499 -6 Supp6 2d 29 #D6D6C6 2889%&e"do" v6 Bush, F -ed6 Appx6 25 #Fth Cir6 2885%&e"do" v6 Eagen, 48F -6 Supp6 2d 2F #D6D6C6%, dismissed #2885%&e"do" >6 :6S6 Cong6, 2F2 -64d 9F #Fth Cir6 2882%&e"do" v6 Congress E(:SD SC:SD #Fth Cir6 2882%&e"do" v6 Congress of :6S6, 44 -6 Supp6 2d 022F #E6D6 Cal6 2889%&e"do" v6 +efevre, 9F -64d 4 #Fth Cir6 2808%&e"do" v6 Peterson, 94 -6 4d 089 ! Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit 2805&e"do" v6 Rio +inda :nion Sch6 Dist6, 9F -64d 088 #Fth Cir6 2808%&e"do" v6 Ro.erts, 82 -64d 082 #D6C6 Cir6 2808%&e"do" v6 )he Congress of the :nited States #2804%

&e"do" v6 :nited States, &o6 F!C>!99 #S6D6 -la6 0FF%, affUd, 28 -64d 2 #00thCir6 2888%&e"do" v6 :nited States Congress, 549 -6 Supp6 2d 08 #E6D6 Cal6 288%O3/A$R v6 Blumenthal, 52 -6 Supp6 0F ! Dist6 Court, D )exas 0FO3hair v6 *urra, 9 -6 2d 0055 ! Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit 0FFParker v6 /urle, 905 -64d #0st Cir6 288%Petition of Pl"acki, 08 -6 Supp6 9F4 #0F92%Petition of Pl"acki, 009 -6 Supp6 04 #0F94%Pleasant (rove Cit v6 Summum, 999 :6S6 58 #288F%R6 A6 >6 v6 Cit of St6 Paul #0FF2%Rosen.erger v6 :niversit of >irginia #0FF9%R"eemamu v6 Cote, 928 -64d 0F #2d Cir6 288%Santa -e $ndependent School District v6 Doe, 948 :6S6 2F8 #2888%

Schmidt v6 Cline, 02 -6 Supp6 2d 00F #D6 ?an6 2888%Sch6 Dist6 of A.ington )"p6 v6 Schempp, 45 :6S6 at 284 #0F4%Shedlock v6 Dept6 of Corr6, 552 *ass6 55 #2885%Sherman v6 Cmt6 Consol6 Sch6 Dist6 20 of heeling )"p6, F8 -62d 54 #th Cir60FF2%Speiser v6 Randall, #0F9%Stone v6 (raham, 55F :6S6 4F #0F8%)homas v6 Revie" Board of the $ndiana Emploment Securit Division #0F0%)hurdin v6 SE$ Boston, ++C, 592 *ass6 54 #288%)o.ias v6 Secretar, 50F *ass6 9 #0FF9%)orcaso v6 atkins #0F0%



)o"n of (reece v6 (allo"a #2805%:nited States v6 +ope', 905 :6S6 95F #0FF9%>an Orden v6 Perr, 959 :6S6 #2889%allace v6 @affree, 52 :6S6 4 #0F9%arner v6 Orange Cnt6 DepUt of Pro.6, 009 -64d 08 #2d Cir6 0FF%est >irginia State Board of Education v6 Barnette, 40F :6S6 25 #0F54%estside Communit Bd6 of Ed6 v6 *ergens, 5F :6S6 22 #0FF8%idmar v6 >incent #0F0%

ieman v6 :pdegraff, #0F92%isconsin v6 Moder #0F2%elman v6 Simmons!/arris, 94 :6S6 4F #2882%orach v6 Clauson, 454 :6S6 48 #0F92%

Adapted from #among other sources%1

https1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiH+istJofJ:nitedJStatesJSupremeJCourtJcasesJinvolvingJtheJ-irstJAmendment

)a.le 2A1 Selected Chronological +isting of Some -irst Amendment Related Decisions

@ones v6 >an'andt, 2 *c+ean 9F #Ohio Cir6 Ct6 054%@ones v6 >an andt, 5 :6S6 209 #05%Brad"ell v6 State, 4 :6S6 048 #04%*inersville v6 (o.itas, 408 :6S6 9 #0F58%Common"ealth v6 @ohnson, 48F *ass6 5 #0F50%Chaplinsk v6 &e" /ampshire #0F52%est >irginia State Board of Education v6 Barnette, 40F :6S6 25 #0F54%Everson v6 Bd6 of Educ6,448 :6S6 0 #0F5%*cCollum v6 Board of Education, 444 :6S6 284 #0F5%American Communications Association v6 Douds #0F98%(arner v6 Board of Pu.lic orks, #0F90%Adler v6 Board of Ed6 of Cit of &e" Mork, #0F92%Petition of Pl"acki, 08 -6 Supp6 9F4 #0F92%ieman v6 :pdegraff, #0F92%

orach v6 Clauson, 454 :6S6 48 #0F92%Petition of Pl"acki, 009 -6 Supp6 04 #0F94%Bro"n v6 Bd6 of Educ6, 45 :6S6 54 #0F95%Speiser v6 Randall, #0F9%Cramp v6 Board of Pu.lic $nstruction, #0F0%*c(o"an v6 *arland, 4 :6S6 528 #0F0%)orcaso v6 atkins #0F0%Engel v6 >itale, 48 :6S6 520 #0F2%A.ington School District v6 Schempp, 45 :6S6 284 #0F4%Sch6 Dist6 of A.ington )"p6 v6 Schempp, 45 :6S6 at 284 #0F4%Coffee!Rich, $nc6 v6 CommUr of Pu.lic /ealth, 45 *ass6 505 #0F9%?eishian v6 Board of Regents, #0F9%+oving v6 Common"ealth of >irginia, 4 :6S6 0 #0F%

Epperson v6 Ark6, 4F4 :6S6 F #0F%Arono" v6 :nited States, 542 -6 2d 252 ! Court of Appeals, Fth Circuit 0F8+emon v6 ?urt'man #0F0%isconsin v6 Moder #0F2%Communist Part of $ndiana v6 hitcom., #0F5%Baird v6 Attorne (eneral, 40 *ass6 50 #0F%*cDaniel v6 Pat #0F%O3/A$R v6 Blumenthal, 52 -6 Supp6 0F ! Dist6 Court, D )exas 0FColo v6 )reasurer [ Receiver (eneral, 4 *ass6 998 #0FF%O3hair v6 *urra, 9 -6 2d 0055 ! Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit 0FFCro"le v6 Smithsonian $nst6, 4 -62d 4 #D6C6 Cir6 0F8%

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Supreme_Court_cases_involving_




Stone v6 (raham, 55F :6S6 4F #0F8%)homas v6 Revie" Board of the $ndiana Emploment Securit Division #0F0%idmar v6 >incent #0F0%Edgar v6 *$)E Corp6, 59 :6S6 25 #0F2%+arkin v6 (rendelUs Den, $nc6, 59F :6S6 00 #0F2%Allen v6 right, 5 :6S6 4 #0F5%+nch v6 Donnell, 59 :6S6 #0F5%*arsh v6 Cham.ers #0F5%

(rand Rapids School District v6 Ball, 54 :6S6 44 #0F9%allace v6 @affree, 52 :6S6 4 #0F9%Bo"en v6 Ro #0F%Corporation of Presiding Bishop v6 Amos, 54 :6S6 42 #0F%(oldman v6 ein.erger #0F%Ed"ards v6 Aguillard #0F%Alleghen Count v6 (reater Pitts.urgh AC+:, 5F2 :6S6 94 #0FF%Count of Alleghen v6 AC+:, 5F2 :6S6 94 #0FF%English v6 &e" England *ed6 Ctr6, 589 *ass6 524 #0FF%Board of Education of the estside Communit Schools v6 *ergens #0FF8%Emploment Div6 v6 Smith, 5F5 :6S6 2 #0FF8%estside Communit Bd6 of Ed6 v6 *ergens, 5F :6S6 22 #0FF8%-edele v6 Sch6 Comm6 of est"ood, 502 *ass6 008 #0FF2%

+ee v6 eisman, 989 :6S6 9 #0FF2%R6 A6 >6 v6 Cit of St6 Paul #0FF2%Sherman v6 Cmt6 Consol6 Sch6 Dist6 20 of heeling )"p6, F8 -62d 54 #th Cir60FF2%+am.3s Chapel v6 Center *oriches :nion -ree School District #0FF4%Attorne (eneral v6 Desilets, 50 *ass6 40 #0FF5%Bro"n v6 oodland @oint :nified Sch6 Dist6, 2 -64d 044 #Fth Cir6 0FF5%Capitol S7uare Revie" [ Advisor Board v6 Pinette, 909 :6S6 94, 9 #0FF9%Rosen.erger v6 :niversit of >irginia #0FF9%)o.ias v6 Secretar, 50F *ass6 9 #0FF9%(alor v6 :nited States, 5 -64d 205 #@an6 24, 0FF%arner v6 Orange Cnt6 DepUt of Pro.6, 009 -64d 08 #2d Cir6 0FF%Agostini v6 -elton #0FF%Bauchman v6 est /igh School, 042 -6 4d 952 ! Court of Appeals, #08th Circuit 0FF%

Boa;ian v6 (at'unis, 202 -64d 0 #0st Cir6 2888%&e"do" v6 :nited States, &o6 F!C>!99 #S6D6 -la6 0FF%, affUd, 28 -64d 2 #00thCir6 2888%*itchell v6 /elms #2888%Santa -e $ndependent School District v6 Doe, 948 :6S6 2F8 #2888%Schmidt v6 Cline, 02 -6 Supp6 2d 00F #D6 ?an6 2888%Adarand Constructors, $nc6 v6 *ineta, 945 :6S6 084 #2880%DeStefano v6 Emergenc /ousing (roup $nc6, 25 -64d 4F #2nd Cir6 2880%(ood &e"s Clu. v6 *ilford Central Sch6, 944 :6S6 F #2880%Commack Self!Serv6 ?osher *eats, $nc6 v6 eiss, 2F5 -64d 509 #2d Cir6 2882%&e"do" >6 :6S6 Cong6, 2F2 -64d 9F #Fth Cir6 2882%&e"do" v6 Congress E(:SD SC:SD #Fth Cir6 2882%elman v6 Simmons!/arris, 94 :6S6 4F #2882%

(oodridge v6 Department of Pu.lic /ealth, 558 *ass6 48F #2884%Elk (rove :nified Sch6 Dist6 v6 &e"do", 952 :6S6 0 #2885%$n re Opinion of the @ustices to the Senate, 558 *ass6 0280 #2885%&e"do" v6 Bush, F -ed6 Appx6 25 #Fth Cir6 2885%&e"do" v6 Eagen, 48F -6 Supp6 2d 2F #D6D6C6%, dismissed #2885%Shedlock v6 Dept6 of Corr6, 552 *ass6 55 #2885%*cCrear Count v6 AC+: of ?entuck, 959 :6S6 55 #2889%*ers v6 +oudoun Cnt6 Pu.6 Sch6, 50 -64d 4F9 #5th Cir6 2889%&e"do" v6 Bush, 499 -6 Supp6 2d 29 #D6D6C6 2889%&e"do" v6 Congress of :6S6, 44 -6 Supp6 2d 022F #E6D6 Cal6 2889%>an Orden v6 Perr, 959 :6S6 #2889%



Cote!hitacre v6 DepUt of Pu.6 /ealth, 55 *ass6 498 #288%(on'ales v6 O Centro Espirita Beneficente :niao do >egetal #288%?eplinger v6 :nited States, 288 + 05995 #*6D6 Pa6 288%&e"do" v6 :nited States Congress, 549 -6 Supp6 2d 08 #E6D6 Cal6 288%DuPont v6 CommUr of Corr6, 55 *ass6 4F #288%Parker v6 /urle, 905 -64d #0st Cir6 288%R"eemamu v6 Cote, 928 -64d 0F #2d Cir6 288%)hurdin v6 SE$ Boston, ++C, 592 *ass6 54 #288%

Common"ealth v6 eston, 6, 599 *ass6 25 #288F%Pleasant (rove Cit v6 Summum, 999 :6S6 58 #288F%Croft v6 Perr, 25 -64d 09 #9th Cir6 2808%-reedom -rom Religion -ound6 v6 /anover Sch6 Dist6, 2 -64d 0 #0st Cir6 2808%$ncantalupo v6 +a"rence :nion -ree Sch6 Dist6 &o6 09, 48 -6 AppUx 9F #2d Cir62808%?idd v6 O.ama 4 -ed6 Appx6 2 #D6C6 Cir6 2808%&e"do" v6 +efevre, 9F -64d 4 #Fth Cir6 2808%&e"do" v6 Rio +inda :nion Sch6 Dist6, 9F -64d 088 #Fth Cir6 2808%&e"do" v6 Ro.erts, 82 -64d 082 #D6C6 Cir6 2808%-inch v6 Common"ealth /ealth $ns6 Connector Auth6, 59F *ass6 99 #2800%Barnes!allace v6 Cit of San Diego, !!! -64d !!!!, 2802 + 20450 #Fth Cir6 2802%(allo"a v6 )o"n of (reece, 0 -64d 28 #2802%

/ighto"er v6 Cit of Boston, F4 -64d 0 #0st Cir6 2802%&ational -ederation of $ndependent Business v6 Se.elius, 9 :6S6 JJJJ #2802%&e"do" v6 )he Congress of the :nited States #2804%&e"do" v6 Peterson, 94 -6 4d 089 ! Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit 2805)o"n of (reece v6 (allo"a #2805%

Adapted from #among other sources%1

https1HHen6"ikipedia6orgH"ikiH+istJofJ:nitedJStatesJSupremeJCourtJcasesJinvolvingJtheJ-irstJAmendment





&out the &uthor

B formal training $ am a mathematical .iopschologist "ith an undergraduatedegree #B6A6% "ith ma;ors in mathematics and pscholog, a *aster of Science inpscholog #"ith additional graduate course"ork in mathematics%, a Ph6D6 inpscholog, and postdoctoral research and stud in .iopscholog6 Currentl, $ am aProfessor #Emeritus% of Pscholog follo"ing 58 ears of teaching and

pschophsical research in pscholog6

)his .ackground, admittedl, does not provide religious or legal 7ualificationsto speak authoritativel on the topics covered in this essa6 Conse7uentl, $ havelimited all factual statements and 7uotations to readil accessi.le sources #viathe $nternet% that the reader should easil find and evaluate independentl6Because of the su.;ect matter involved, numerous court cases are mentioned6 )heseare listed in the text in a..reviated form #such as, Plainti v. Deendant%6 $t isusuall possi.le to simpl cop and paste the a..reviated source into an $nternetsearch engine in order to access more information a.out the case #and, in mostinstances, the actual case decision itself%6 )a.les 0A and 2A of the Appendixprovide a more formal and complete listing of man cases involving church andstate6 * purpose is to inform a.out #and stimulate discussion of% topics that seem

to .e pu.licl ignored6 Responses in agreement or disagreement ma .e sent to me atghro.insonlcos6com6

A.out the Cover

)he .ackground cover photograph is a cropped portion of a /u..le ultra deepfield photo availa.le from ikipedia Commons located at the follo"ing :R+1https1HHupload6"ikimedia6orgH"ikipediaHcommonsH8H8dH/u..leJultraJdeepJfieldJhighJre'Jedit06;pg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Hubble_ultra_deep_field_high_

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Hubble_ultra_deep_field_high_

Church and State: The Ten Commandments, Pledge, and U.S. Motto in Today's Universe

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Transcript of Church and State: The Ten Commandments, Pledge, and U.S. Motto in Today's Universe