(5 of 5)
But Douglas' line of argument was contradicted and canceled out in Black's majority opinion. For reasons best known to himself. Black put his limitation in the form of a footnote. It said: "There is of course nothing in the decision reached here that is inconsistent with the fact that schoolchildren and others are officially encouraged to express love for our country by reciting historical documents such as the Declaration of Independence which contain references to the Deity, or by singing officially espoused anthems which include the composer's professions of faith in a Supreme Being, or with the fact that there are many manifestations in our public life of belief in God." Black's footnote was virtually ignored in the public reporting of the decision; it was omitted even in the text as published by the inclusive New York Times. Had it been given half as much attention as Douglas' sweeping dicta, much of the confusion and controversy might have been avoided.
Despite its limited scope, broad implications could be reasonably read into the court's decision. It might, for example, be taken as a court warning against federal aid to church schools. But Black's opinion was most notable for its failure to relate its specific ruling to the unique American proposition—that of a government of freedom under God.
The Founding Fathers, of whatever religious hue, adhered to that proposition and expressed it both in word and writing. But, perhaps out of fear and scorn for the established and official state churches of Europe, they never sought to codify the proposition as law. Rather, they tried to protect it by strictly limiting the participation of government in official religious activity.
Thus the U.S. evolved not only as a country in which every man could worship God as he saw fit, but also as a country with "a Godly tradition." Unless emotions released by last week's misunderstood decision are strangely perverted, the country will stay that way.
* Joining with Black were Chief Justice Earl Warren, Justices Tom Clark, John Marshall Harlan and William J. Brennan Jr. Black and Warren are Baptists; Clark, Harlan and Douglas are Presbyterians (Douglas is a minister's son; Clark served for years as a church elder). Brennan is the court's only Roman Catholic. Justices Felix Frankfurter and Byron R. White took no part in the decision. White and Dissenter Stewart are Episcopalians, and Frankfurter is a Jew by origin, but answers "no comment" when asked about his religious affiliation.