The Separation of Church and State

Religion

In the television debate between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr. on Open End some weeks ago, I was greatly struck by the assurance with which Mr. Vidal made apodictic pronouncements on all manner of things that were simply not so. Apparently the Liberal line, like some gnostic formula, reveals the final truth about everything without subjecting one to the necessity of consulting the facts of the case. I am tempted to illustrate this point from Mr. Vidal’s remarks on education, social discrimination, our constitutional system, and other matters that came up in the interminable two hours; but I think I had better restrict myself to that phase of the running debate that most concerns us in this column—the school prayer issue, and the larger question of the relation of Church and State under the Constitution. Mr. Vidal, if I remember him correctly (I have no transcript before me), simply took it for granted that the First Amendment decreed the unequivocal separation of Church and State, and categorically barred the Federal Government (and, through the Fourteenth Amendment, the state governments as well) from engaging in any way in the “religion business.” Obviously, school prayers had to be outlawed because every connection between religion and government was unconstitutional. This was Mr. Vidal’s position, reiterated several times during the discussion, in a manner suggesting that only a bigot or a stupid conservative could possibly question so patent a fact.

WH

About the Author

Will Herberg

Featured Tags

William F. Buckley Jr.

Gore Vidal

Education

Religion

In the television debate between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr. on Open End some weeks ago, I was greatly struck by the assurance with which Mr. Vidal made apodictic pronouncements on all manner of things that were simply not so. Apparently the Liberal line, like some gnostic formula, reveals the final truth about everything without subjecting one to the necessity of consulting the facts of the case. I am tempted to illustrate this point from Mr. Vidal’s remarks on education, social discrimination, our constitutional system, and other matters that came up in the interminable two hours; but I think I had better restrict myself to that phase of the running debate that most concerns us in this column—the school prayer issue, and the larger question of the relation of Church and State under the Constitution. Mr. Vidal, if I remember him correctly (I have no transcript before me), simply took it for granted that the First Amendment decreed the unequivocal separation of Church and State, and categorically barred the Federal Government (and, through the Fourteenth Amendment, the state governments as well) from engaging in any way in the “religion business.” Obviously, school prayers had to be outlawed because every connection between religion and government was unconstitutional. This was Mr. Vidal’s position, reiterated several times during the discussion, in a manner suggesting that only a bigot or a stupid conservative could possibly question so patent a fact.