May 2, 2023
Dear editor;
In consecutive commentaries published in The Voice, Bela “Bill” Suhayda writes of the Judeo-Christian values that our Nation’s founding fathers, as Christian men, inserted into the U.S. Constitution.
Reading Mr. Suhayda’s discourses prompted me to reread my copy of that esteemed document. What I found was inconsistent with Mr. Suhayda’s statements.
The U.S. Constitution is largely a “blueprint” for our government, laying out the various branches of government and the powers vested in each. It is not an instrument of religious values, or beliefs.
The preamble does write of “the blessings of liberty,” but not in a religious context.
The word “religion” or “religious” occurs only in the following texts:
Article VI states that: “…no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust of the United States.”
The First Amendment states: “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof….”
Perhaps I’m missing something, but I don’t see a reflection of religious values in the U.S. Constitution.
Frank Patterson, Aurora