Boy Scout Troop 325
Scoutmaster Minute
Feb 19, 2002
"A Scout
Is Reverent"
Separation of Church and State is one of the basic tenets of
our society, and of any free society.
Yet I sometimes worry that in our attempts to protect religious
expression from governmental interference, we give the impression that
religious expression itself, and even a belief in God is wrong!
Clearly, just the opposite is true. Ours is a nation founded in large part by
immigrants seeking religious freedom.
Many of the British North American colonies that were eventually forged
into the fledgling United States were settled in the 17th century by
men and women who, in the face of persecution in their home lands, refused to
compromise their beliefs and fled to the New World.
References to our trust and faith and belief in God course
throughout our history.
One of the earliest settlements in the New World, Plymouth
Colony, was founded by the Pilgrims, a group of English settlers seeking
religious freedom. They wrote the
Mayflower Pact, the first constitution in America. It began with these words: “By the Grace of God…”
The Declaration of Independence states quite unapologetically: “…all men are created equal, they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…”
President Lincoln’s Address at Gettysburg promises “that
this nation, under God, shall have a
new birth of freedom…”
The United States National Motto is “In God We Trust.” It is printed on all United States Currency and on the Great Seal of the United States.
The national Anthem, in the third verse, contains these words: “And this be our motto: ‘in God is our trust.’”
The Oath of Office for the President of the United States
ends with these words: “So help me God.”
When you swear to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” in court, you do so with your hand on the Holy Bible.
As much as our nation was created to protect its citizens
from government imposed religion and to allow them the freedom to worship each
in his own way, it was also founded upon universal religious principals and a
universal belief in God.
Today, some 92% of the population of the United States call
themselves Christian, another 3% Jewish, and 2% Muslim. The remaining 3% are a combination of
pantheistic and agnostic. Less than 1%
call themselves atheists.
While we talk about the 1st Amendment as
establishing separation of church and State, it actually states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;…”
A strong belief in God is central to everything our nation
was founded on and all that it stands for today. We are the strongest and richest nation on Earth. We are also a caring nation, giving more
than any other on Earth. And at the end
of the day, we bow our heads, figuratively if not literally, and humble
ourselves before God and give thanks for all that we have received, and all the
good that we have been able to achieve.
The twelfth Scout law states: “A Scout is Reverent.”
Are you?
Thank you, and may the Great Master of all Scouts be with
you.