Constitutional student Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) blew isolated Speaker Mike Johnson’s assertion that the Bible comes earlier the Constitution.
Raskin said erstwhile asked astir Johnson’s comments connected MSNBC’s Inside with Jen Psaki:
Well, let’s commencement with this, erstwhile we instrumentality our oath of office, we enactment our manus connected the Bible and we curse to uphold the Constitution.
We don’t enactment our manus connected the Constitution and curse to uphold the Bible. The Constitution is the governing papers of the country. And, we of people person a multiplicity of faiths and radical tin take their religion oregon nary religion astatine all. And that’s what Jefferson and. Adams and Madison fought for with the American Revolution and the Declaration and the Constitution.
Video of Raskin:
I mean, the large breakthrough of the American Constitution was to rebel against centuries of spiritual conflict. The wars betwixt the Catholics and the Protestants and Inquisition and Crusades and witchcraft trials and each of that. They said, we privation to enactment authorities connected a secular principle, which is No constitution of religion, nary spiritual trial for nationalist office, and escaped exercise.
Everybody tin worship precisely arsenic helium oregon she pleases. But I’ve got colleagues who get up. One got up not agelong agone and said, The motivation downfall of America was successful 1962 with Engel versus Vitale. wherever the Supreme Court banned supplication successful the nationalist schools. And I had to punctual him, no, the Supreme Court ne'er banned supplication successful the nationalist schools.
As agelong arsenic determination are popular mathematics quizzes, determination volition beryllium supplication successful the nationalist schools, right? All the Supreme Court said successful Engel versus Vitali is that the authorities can’t compel you to commune according to a publication that the authorities writes. And that lawsuit was from. New York, the suit was brought by Catholic families saying that determination was a Protestant supplication that was being imposed connected everybody.
And of course, that’s the large statement oregon 1 of the large arguments for the separation of religion and authorities and nary constitution of religion. What happens is 1 religion gets power of the governmental process and past imposes Its theological orthodoxy and subject connected everybody else. And that’s wherefore it’s successful place.
Raskin was correct, and Johnson’s content that the Bible comes earlier the Constitution is what makes him truthful unsafe successful a presumption of power. Speaker Johnson does not judge successful democracy. The federation was founded owed to spiritual persecution. It is wherefore determination is simply a separation of religion and state.
The bully quality is that successful a small much than a year, it is highly apt that Mike Johnson volition spell backmost to obscurity, and Jamie Raskin volition beryllium starring the House Oversight Committee.
Jason is the managing editor. He is besides a White House Press Pool and a Congressional analogous for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree successful Political Science. His postgraduate enactment focused connected nationalist policy, with a specialization successful societal betterment movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association