James Madison Quotes
Because we hold it for 'a fundamental and undeniable truth', that religion or 'the duty which we owe to our Creator' and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence.
Madison, James. "Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments." 20 June 1785. The Papers of James Madison, vol. 8, edited by Robert A. Rutland and William M. E. Rachal, University of Chicago Press, 1973, p. 299.
Madison was a deist, but was firm that religion was to be an individual matter and not an area in which the state ought be involced.
Bush made religion a driver of his Presidency and policies in a way far in excess of other American Presidents. See {633550}. There has always been some debate as to whether he actually believed that or he was just saying it to pander to the religious conservatives who formed an important component of his base.
He was not asked to change his views, simply to remain silent, He refused as he felt that his silence would be dishonest. Ingersoll was considered to be the greatest orator and political thinker of his day, but his overt atheistic views curtailed his elected political career.
It is an error to say that. It is an error to say that He was the last Pope to hold temporal power. Years later, the Vatican rejected this view and adopted the modern concept of freedom of conscience. See {612714}.
Niemoller, a World War I U-boat commander and clergyman, was jailed for rejecting the National Socialist ideology and for appealing to German Christians not to embrace the new paganism of Nazism and Fascism.
Bigots in Judeo Christian societies have always justified their bigotry with Biblical passages which they take our of context or interpret as supporting—sometimes commanding—their views. Just as the overwhelming majority of clerics in the world condemned slavery just before the Civil War, a few Southern ministers could be found who claimed that slavery was God’s will and cited Biblical passages in support of their inhuman viewpoints.
This quotation is sometimes used to show that Washington thought religion important. Most of the founding fathers thought religion both important and potentially dangerous. They had observed Europe tear itself apart over religious differences. Note that Washington uses the words “religious principles” as opposed to “religion” or “religious prescriptions” or “religious doctrine.” The founders were not hostile to the concept of religion—even Jefferson and Franklin saw potential values in religion and religious institutions. They were hostile, however, to letting any particular sect dominate the religious environment of the nation. Nor did they want any of the religions controlling or operating the civil government. See {625616}.
James Madison Jr. was an American statesman, diplomat, expansionist, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. He is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States and the United States Bill of Rights. He co-wrote The Federalist Papers, co-founded the Democratic-Republican Party, and served as the fifth United States Secretary of State from 1801 to 1809.
