Griffin Bell, who was U.S. Attorney General under President Carter, stressed Tuesday that freedom of religion, a right Americans have enjoyed since the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution in 1791, must be constantly safeguarded.
“Freedom of religion in this country must be constantly safeguarded,” Bell told the biennial convention of the American Jewish Congress at the Omni Shoreham Hotel here. “I think it is constantly in danger, however.”
The theme of the convention, attended by 500 delegates, is “The Jewish Experience in American Democracy: 200 Years Under The Constitution.”
“Separation of church and state is fundamental to our nation,” said Bell, who is now an Atlanta lawyer.
He said one of the reasons people came to America was for freedom of religion. Bell said while most attention is paid to the issue of prayers in the schools, he said there are numerous cases involving separation of church and state before the courts. He quipped that lawyers will have to become ecclesiastical lawyers.
PENDULUM SWINGING THE OTHER WAY
Howard Squadron, a former president of the AJCongress, said that while for 25 years the AJCongress and other Jewish groups have been successful in suits they have filed or in joining with others on separation of church and state issues, the pendulum is now swinging the other way.
He said part of this is “cyclical” and part is that the Supreme Court is responding to what it senses is the national mood as reflected by the Reagan Administration. He charged that President Reagan and his Attorney General, Edwin Meese III, “believe in the Christian nation concept. They believe that the concept of God as they view it should be expressed in the public institutions of this country.”
Squadron noted that the Orthodox Jewish community, which used to support the rest of the organized Jewish community in the fight for church-state separation, has broken away because of concern for its schools. “While Jewish education is extremely important, we in the Jewish community will find a way to support it without government entanglement,” he declared.
Squadron stressed that it is Jewish “self-interest” to support the First Amendment since Jews are a small minority in this country. “We are using the First Amendment as it was meant to be used,” Squadron said, “not intolerance to religion, on the contrary, but ensuring that all religions will be tolerated. And that is in our interest.” He concluded that this has always been the role of the AJCongress and “God willing we will continue the fight.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
