This episode presents James Madison's argument against an established church. American opinion on the mixing of church and state was divided on the eve of the American Revolution. Congregationalists (Puritans) and Anglicans supported it, Baptists and Presbyterians were against. Christian nationalists like David Barton commonly cite from the former, but ignore or misrepresent the other side. Yet this historical cherry-picking" is neither here nor there, since the former ended up on the "losing" side, at least with regards to the Constitution. Madison, the author of the founding document, vehemently opposed the establishment of Christianity as the religion of the new republic, noting that it would open a Pandora's box of fighting among Christian sects, all seeking to impose their vision and interpretation of Christianity on society as a whole. Worse, the civil magistrate would attempt to coopt and "employ religion as an engine of civil policy." State churches have mixed agendas, as politicians manipulate the church for worldly gain, leading to an "unhallow perversion of the means of salvation." The coup de grace of Madison's argument is an appeal to the Scriptures--"every page disavows dependence [of Christianity] on the powers of this world." Reliance on the state is therefore "a contradiction to the Christian religion itself." Madison essentially concludes that Christian nationalists contradict "every page" of Scripture when they rely on the State. While Madison's embrace of Christianity is debatable, his grasp of Christ's autonomous Kingdom is likely more Biblical than the vision of many Christian nationalists.
