Antidisestablishmentarianism in Action
Visitors to Philadelphia's National Constitution Center should pop into a small, dim room off the main lobby to see an extraordinary collection of documents about religious liberty. They'll also get a chance to see that famous spelling bee word, antidisestablishmentarianism, in action. The exhibit (which runs through January) showcases the evolution of our understanding of the First Amendment's Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses.
While rare early copies of the Bill of Rights and George Washington's first Thanksgiving Proclamation are show-stealers, a far more prosaic document illuminates the everyday mixing of church and state that was common in the Founding era. When he was appointed commander of Virginia's military forces, George Washington was required to sign an anti-Catholic "test oath" disclaiming belief in such doctrines as transubstantiation, the changing of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. We've come a long way, baby.
This article originally appeared in print under the headline "Antidisestablishmentarianism in Action."
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?