Alan Keyes discusses religion in American public life

Ambassador Alan Keyes believes that nothing – not even the United States Constitution – is set in stone.

‘We must hold [federal] judges accountable for the difference between what they say is constitutional and what actually is [constitutional],’ Keyes said.

Keyes addressed a crowd in Love Auditorium Tuesday evening with a speech titled ‘The Role of Religion in American Public Life.’ His speech was sponsored by the dean of the college and dean of sophomore year offices, and the recently established Center for Freedom and Western Civilization.

Keyes had begun his talk by challenging the First Amendment to the Constitution, which commences with: ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.’ It is not that the Constitution forbids the establishment of religion, he said, but rather that Congress cannot make a ruling with respect to the establishment of religion, such as separation of church and state.

Keyes challenged language in both the First and Tenth Amendments – arguing that federal government has no right to challenge the establishment of religion. The clause that forbids Congress to legislate on religion reserves that power to the states, not federal judges. Federal law enforcers are not the ultimate arbiters of a ‘people’s’ constitution, he said.

Further, Keyes said, the First Amendment works in tandem with the tenth: together, both ensure that the rights of the states and their people are removed from mandates by federal law concerning the establishment of religion.

Since Congress cannot enforce a law with respect to religion, Keyes said, federal law enforcers – including lawyers and judges – cannot override this power. Court decisions that claim a separation of church and state, Keyes argued, have no grounding in constitutional law. It is the citizens of the United States that are the ultimate judges of constitutional disputes, not federal law enforcers, he said.

‘Our constitution . . . belongs ultimately to us . . . that’s why it cannot be changed except with the consent of the whole people,’ he said.

Keyes referred to federal judges and lawyers as instilling a ‘legal oligarchy.’ Those that can ‘manipulate’ the law are the ultimate rulers, he said. But if judges are the arbiters, this removes the power from the three branches of government, Keyes said, and therefore from the people.

‘No law is a law if it isn’t grounded in the Constitution. If you accept the whim of a judge as law, you don’t live under the Constitution,’ Keyes said.

Keyes called Americans’ obsequious attitudes toward federal judges’ and lawyers’ actions ‘an infringement on personal freedom.’ Only is a person really free when they can refuse abusive authority, he said. ‘We keep our freedom by having a capacity in ourselves to refuse [abuses].’

Claiming that the American public is being ‘oppressed’ by federal judges and lawyers, Keyes asserted that the public should challenge them. The ‘courage’ to do so, Keyes said, comes from faith in God, which has historically given citizens the courage to challenge authority.

Keyes spent 11 years with the U.S. State Department, served in the U.S. Foreign Service, was on the staff of the National Security Council, and served as former president Ronald Reagan’s ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. At one time appointed assistant secretary of state for international organizations, he has also been a two-time Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Maryland.

‘Keyes has a loyal following, and I think most of America is devoutly religious, but silent on it,’ said Greg Stevenson ’04. ‘There are many people who agree with him. Now all that has to get done is for those people to, as Keyes said, ‘learn how to say ‘no’.’

Preston Burnes ’06 said, ‘I do see a rising discord between the religious right and the progressive left, though the issues are very emotionally charged. Many statutes surrounding religion and religious ideas will be fundamentally altered within the next decade. Ambassador Keyes presents one extreme of the spectrum, and his views will play a significant role in shaping the changes that are to come.’

‘It’s a good opportunity to have our students learn to be engaged in different ideologies,’ said Raj Bellani, dean of sophomore year, of the event.

Keyes’s address was the second event sponsored by Center for Freedom and Western Civilization, directed by Robert Kraynak, professor of political science. Built into the center’s mission statement is a commitment ‘to present a conservative viewpoint.’

Keyes’s speech, Kraynak said, suited the center’s mission. ‘I thought it was a very dramatic speech, which I think people found provocative in explaining . . . a conservative view of the role of religion in American society. I thought it was extremely successful in beginning this debate, which I feel is absolutely necessary for us to have,’ Kraynak said. ‘People felt the power of his words. I don’t know how much they agreed with him. The questions were serious and challenging, and that’s what a civilized debate is supposed to be.’