The First Amendment to the U.S Constitution begins with only 16 words: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” But Bentley University history professor Chris Beneke tracks their powerful influence in Free Exercise: Religion, The First Amendment, and the Making of America (Oct 8, Oxford University Press).
In unpacking the historical contexts and political personalities behind the words, Beneke “asks both what role culture played in the shaping of the First Amendment, and what role the First Amendment played in the shaping of American culture,” says Oxford University Press editor Theodore Calderara.
Beneke spoke with PW about what worried the founders when it came to religion, and what they hoped for the future.
You call the First Amendment “audacious.” Why?
Nothing like it had been done in the past—it had been done in individual colonies and states, but never over such a wide expanse, and never with a commitment to ensuring it applied universally. The scope of it really was unprecedented.
Why did Congress decide it was necessary to amend the Constitution and start with religion?
The founders had seen tremendous change, and they expected more of it. The very fact that they had to amend the Constitution was a testament to the understanding that things would need to be adapted. The one thing they could agree on was that religious liberty needed to be protected. They were much more divided about how that would actually happen.
What did “religious liberty” mean to the founders?
Some people wanted religion to operate in what modern commentators would call a free market, for people to exercise individual choice. But many others emphasized duty to God and to each other in the community. Choice and duty often competed with one another.
Who is left out of the First Amendment’s religious protections?
It was a tremendous aid to free African Americans who could establish their own churches and rely on many of the same protections that other religious minorities did, but it did nothing for enslaved people. It also did nothing for women who lived in heavily patriarchal households, where women were not allowed to exercise religious choices.
What impact did the religion clauses have on antisemitism, anti-Catholicism, and other religious bigotries?
Baptists, Jews, and Catholics all enjoyed much greater freedom as a consequence of the First Amendment, at least at the federal level. The First Amendment provided a model for the states. There were places in 18th Century America, like Massachusetts, where you couldn’t be a priest. That Catholics would enjoy equal religious liberties with their Protestant counterparts was a major change.
What do you admire about the founders’ approach to the Constitutional amendments?
They had a sort of cautious optimism that the United States would get better, that it would progress over time, and that people would gain better vistas on which to look at their society and their past. If there’s something for people to take away, it’s an appreciation that these words, though they have been enshrined and are still revered, were written by people who knew that change is inevitable.
