Christian Witness and America’s Birthday
In his great biography of Benjamin Franklin, Walter Isaacson noted that Franklin donated money to “the building funds of each and every sect in Philadelphia.” For Franklin and his founding brothers, religion promoted the civic virtue essential to sustaining the republican model of government. Franklin was a deist throughout his life. But he understood, nonetheless, that religious belief had concrete, powerful and very positive implications for shaping public life.
There are many Benjamin Franklins today, who, whether believers or not, welcome the contributions of religious faith to the public square. Many others, however, including some who hold public office, view religion as a problem and a threat to democratic values. They see its moral norms not as benefiting the public but as limiting individual rights.
Yet, without the vigorous religious freedom that was supported by Franklin and enshrined by Madison and others—as opposed to the far more restricted “freedom of worship” preferred by some of today’s public officials—the United States faces the prospect of undermining the very civic virtues that were meant to sustain it.
In this Year of Faith, we Catholics are called to carve out some time for daily silence; to examine our priorities in a fresh way; and to educate ourselves in the vital elements of our faith. Unfortunately, over the last two generations, Catholic catechesis has too often tended to be both boring and uninformative. As a Church, we’ve too often done a poor job of transmitting the joy and the urgency of the Gospel’s message of liberation from sin.
There are many Benjamin Franklins today, who, whether believers or not, welcome the contributions of religious faith to the public square. Many others, however, including some who hold public office, view religion as a problem and a threat to democratic values. They see its moral norms not as benefiting the public but as limiting individual rights.
Yet, without the vigorous religious freedom that was supported by Franklin and enshrined by Madison and others—as opposed to the far more restricted “freedom of worship” preferred by some of today’s public officials—the United States faces the prospect of undermining the very civic virtues that were meant to sustain it.
In this Year of Faith, we Catholics are called to carve out some time for daily silence; to examine our priorities in a fresh way; and to educate ourselves in the vital elements of our faith. Unfortunately, over the last two generations, Catholic catechesis has too often tended to be both boring and uninformative. As a Church, we’ve too often done a poor job of transmitting the joy and the urgency of the Gospel’s message of liberation from sin.
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