The Baptist Amendment to the Constitution

December 29, 2006 by Dr. Mc.

I just discovered that the first amendment in the Bill of Rights can be directly linked to the political action of a Baptist evangelist. Elder John Leland was a first class evangelist of the Gospel, but that did not deter him from using his weight as leader of the Virginia (Orange) Baptists to secure freedom of religion in the Constitution Bill of Rights. In 1788, with the final state endorsements to the Constitution being desperately sought, James Madison met with Leland to persuade him to endorse the Constitution for Virginia. Leland promised support under one condition: That Madison develop amendments to the Constitution to assure religious liberty. They agreed, and true to his word, Madison authored in 1791 what we know today as the Bill of Rights, the first of which reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” When we look at the life purpose of such people as Leland, can we misunderstand the purpose of the First Amendment? With this results, is there any doubt that religious groups should be involved in political action?

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