POLL: Meme of the Week – February 15th (+1)

[onager]

1. Madison.

He was dead set against letting any religion sneak into the US govt. Madison fought over the creation of the most worthless office in the world, Congressional Chaplain, but got outvoted.

Unlike our modern legal geniuses who contort themselves over stuff like "mere ceremonial religion is not really religion," Madison saw that office for exactly what it was - religious asshattery paid out of public funds:

Is the appointment of Chaplains to the two Houses of Congress consistent with the Constitution, and with the pure principle of religious freedom?

In strictness the answer on both points must be in the negative. The Constitution of the US forbids everything like an establishment of a national religion. The law appointing Chaplains establishes a religious worship for the national representatives, to be performed by Ministers of religion, elected by a majority of them, and these are to be paid out of the national taxes. Does this not involve the principle of a national establishment...? -- James Madison, "Essay on Monopolies" unpublished until 1946, cited in Brant, Irving, The Bill of Rights, 1965, from Albert J Menendez and Edd Doerr, The Great Quotations on Religious Freedom

Lot more of his quotes on religion here:

http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/quotes/madison.htm