John Tyler Quotes
Let it be henceforth proclaimed to the world that man's conscience was created free; that he is no longer accountable to his fellow man for his religious opinions, being responsible therefore only to his God.
Tyler, John. Letter to Joseph Simpson. 10 Jul. 1843. The Letters and Times of the Tylers, by Lyon Gardiner Tyler, vol. 2, Whittet & Shepperson, 1885, p. 354.
Prior to Vatican II, freedom of conscience was not explicit in Catholic Doctrine. The controlling view had been that of Pope Pius IX a hundred years earlier. See {612299}.
The wording was rejected and the delegates insisted upon the original proposed language: “Well aware that Almighty God hath created the mind free …” This is a very important historical quotation because it shows that Henry and a few others wanted to make the society Christian centric, However, the majority insisted that it be non-sectarian. Many of the delegates rejecting the “Jesus Christ” language were themselves practicing Christians, but they were aware of the terrible religious wars and strife in Europe and between Christians and Muslims as well as the persecution of Jews, Quakers, and other sects; they did not want that in America so they rejected the idea of an established Christian Church or culture.
This appears to be one of the first religious groups to withdraw and separate from a state church.
Spinoza’s ideas were considered so radical and dangerous that he was the only man in history who was excommunicated by the Catholics, the Jews and the Muslims.
Henry of Navarre
William was a Catholic himself. Spain then controlled Holland.
In the American system, we do not oppose any religion. We do oppose the right of any religion to use the power of the state and governments to compel or use government resources to promote or subsidize their religion. Other countries have established churches or a national religion. In that sense, some religions perceive America objects to their religion because we do not make it our established religion. Opposing prayer in public schools is not opposing prayer. It is only opposing prayer in that specific context where all payers are paying including the non believers in that particular religion.
John Tyler was the tenth president of the United States, holding office from 1841 to 1845 after briefly serving as the tenth vice president in 1841; he was elected vice president on the 1840 Whig ticket with President William Henry Harrison. Tyler ascended to the presidency after Harrison's death in April 1841, only a month after the start of the new administration. He was a stalwart supporter and advocate of states' rights, and he adopted nationalistic policies as president only when they did not infringe on the powers of the states. His unexpected rise to the presidency posed a threat to the presidential ambitions of Henry Clay and other politicians, and left Tyler estranged from both major political parties.
