Jon Carroll Quotes
Our Executive never interferes in the discipline, doctrine, or regulations of any religious society. They were not consulted nor took part in the appointment of our Bishops, or the Church of England, or Methodists.
Carroll was writing to Troy during the time of the question of Catholic emancipation in England. Here he is clearly alluding to the British form of government. Carroll never missed the opportunity to champion religious freedom as manifested in the U.S. Constitution. For an earlier example of his praise for religious freedom, see {596933}.
Jon Carroll, 1735-1815, 1st American Roman Catholic Bishop, Letter to Archbishop Troy of Dublin, September 28, 1808
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Curtis had at first arrested Samuel B. McPheeters a St. Louis preacher for pro-Southern sermons. Lincoln had countermanded the arrest order. Curtis released the pastor, but prohibited him from preaching in his own church. It took Lincoln many months to find this out and Lincoln then instructed this second instruction to Curtis not to continue the ban.
This appears to be one of the first religious groups to withdraw and separate from a state church.
Pen name: Jack Nipps
This quotation is one of the first to make the critical observation that the only time that tolerance of a religion is necessary is when there is an established church and others that deviate from it. If there is no established church, as the Founding Fathers envisioned, there is no preeminent church to do the tolerating. All are equal. In practice, Protestant churches were proportionately dominant in early America and up through the 20th century. So most of the issue of tolerance problems in America were cultural. And there is still a minority of Christians who believe that America should be a Christian country and other religions should be “tolerated.” However, Clinton and most of the founders did not want to see even general Christianity established as the national religion even they it was the majority religion.
It is this proclamation and others like it that caused many of the American Founding Fathers to include the doctrine of separation of church and state. In this case, and many others, the government actually proscribed and controlled the prayers and the liturgy. See {617532} where the government proscribes the proportion of revenues that must be spent on the poor.
- Born: November 6, 1943
- Nationality: American
- Profession: Journalist
Jon Carroll was a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1982, when he succeeded columnist Charles McCabe, to 2015, when he retired. His column appeared on the back page of the Chronicle's Datebook section (the newspaper's entertainment section) Tuesdays through Fridays. Locally, he was best known for his liberal politics and his odd, self-referential humor.
