A Senate Judiciary Subcommittee today adjourned until Monday after hearing Mrs. Nagene Campbell Bethune, president of “Guardians of America,” testify on behalf of a Constitutional amendment which would grant Federal recognition to Christianity as the official religion of the United States. The adjournment resulted from a telegram from the Synagogue Council of America requesting an opportunity to present its point of view.
In addition to the Synagogue Council, a representative of the National Community Relations Advisory Council will testify on Monday at the hearing on behalf of the Jewish groups affiliated with the NCRAC. The American Jewish Committee has, in the meantime, presented its views in a brief submitted to the subcommittee. The situation is also being watched by the Anti-Defamation League of the B’nai B’rith.
Major religious organizations are closely observing hearings which opened today before the subcommittee on the resolution, introduced by Sen. Ralph E. Flanders of Vermont to grant Federal recognition through Constitutional amendment that “this nation devoutly recognizes the authority and law of Jesus Christ, Saviour and ruler of nations through whom are bestowed the blessings of Almighty God. ” A provision is added stipulating that this amendment should in no way abridge any other section of the Constitution. The purpose of the amendment is to legally establish that Christianity is the official religion of the United States. It is supported by so-called “fundamentalist” groups, but there has not yet been any indication of the stand of leading Catholic and Protestant organizations.
America’s tradition of religious equality was cited today by opponents of the proposed amendment. Glen L. Archer, executive director of an organization known as “Protestants and Other Americans United for Separation of Church and State,” said in a statement to chairman William Langer of the Senate Judiciary Committee that such an amendment “would work a revolution in the American way of life.”
“Non-Christians would be placed under the stigma of having to be excused by Congress from subscribing wholeheartedly to the Constitution and would obviously be reduced to second-class citizens, ” the statement said. “It would set the clock back by centuries and lose for America her coveted role of civilized leadership. ” The proposed amendment, it was emphasized in the statement, would “virtually repeal the First Amendment to the Constitution. “
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
