pete@pegasus.UUCP (10/12/83)
The concept of a "Christian State" has had the force of law in the past in the United States. Specifically. Massachusetts had state supported religion as late as 1844. It was a legal requirement that all towns support a "church of Protestant denomination". The pastor of the church was a town employee. Although the "Protestant denomination" was not specified in the law, it was always Congregationalist until the 1840's when a few towns near Boston disestablished the local Congregationalist church and voted to support a Unitarian church. It was at this time that the law was repealed by the legislature to prevent state money from supporting the wrong group. People were free to attend the church of their choice. They were, however, taxed to support the town church regardless of their own beliefs. (At the time, it was held analogous to the situation regarding attendance at a private school where taxes were still paid to the local school district). I learned this interesting (and frightening) fact while on a visit to Old Sturbridge Village (An historical restoration of a village as it would have existed in rural central Massachussetts in 1830). Other states (especially those in the midwest) forbade tax support of religion ever since their founding. Official School Prayer was common in the south and east, but rare or illegal (by state law, Illinois for example) in much of the midwest and west at the time of the Supreme Court school prayer decision. To those who might wonder about the U.S constitution's first amendment as it applies to the Massachussetts law. The current legal interpretations which forces state law to comply with the civil rights granted by the federal constitution came into existence only after the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments in the post Civil War period. Many of the court decisions which established this federal primacy were only made within the past 25 years.