Chaplains in public schools are not what the Founders envisioned

On March 25 the Globe printed a report from The Washington Post concerning legislation introduced in 14 states to place Christian chaplains in public schools (“States moving to put chaplains in public schools,” Page A2). Former Arkansas state senator Jason Rapert, now the president of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers, supports these measures, stating that “the values and principles of the Founding Fathers” need to be empowered.

I respectfully suggest that Rapert revisit the words of the Founders, given that they worked hard to keep church, as it then existed, and state separate. When he was president, John Adams signed the Treaty of Tripoli that stated that “the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion.” Thomas Jefferson cited a “wall of separation” between church and state.

My own ancestor, the Rev. Daniel Shute, worked at the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention in 1779 and, the following year, advocated the freedom of religion clause proposed in Article VI of the US Constitution. He argued that religious tests for public office could exclude many gifted individuals and could foster hypocritical endorsement of religious faith. He further stated that he valued those who

“have no other guide in the way to virtue and heaven than the dictates of natural religion.” A majority vote supported his view and ratified the founding document for our new nation.

Our Founding Fathers got things right on the separation of church and state, thus encouraging genuine strength in the development of both church and state in their respective, separate spheres.

THE REV. STEPHANIE SHUTE KELSCH Hingham