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ACSWP Introduction

The Presbyterian understanding of how the church and state should related to one another has undergone a substantial transformation in the years since 1945. In 1947, the UPCUSA Assembly declared: ". . . Now, therefore, this Assembly respectfully requests our Government constantly to be mindful of its avowed faith in Almighty God as the fountainhead of our rights and liberties and on every public occasion to give due and proper recognition of this Faith . . ." (PCUSA, 1947, p. 110). The clear expectation of the church was that the state would be Christian, or at least theistic.

The Presbyterian General Assemblies came to their present understanding of the proper relationship between church and state through a sometimes difficult struggle with Roman Catholic power in the 1940's, 50's and 60's. Fear of the Vatican's power in temporal affairs caused each major Presbyterian body's 1946 General Assembly to protest the ". . . continued official relations between our government and the Vatican, under whatever guise they are cloaked . . ." (PCUSA, 1946, p. 84; see also: PCUS, p. 82; UPCNA, p. 771). The protest was repeated in subsequent years by the Assemblies of each particular church (PCUS, 1947, p. 89, PCUSA, 1947, p. 176; PCUSA, 1949, p. 251; PCUS, 1950, p. 48; PCUSA, 1950, p. 243; PCUSA, 1952, p. 205; PCUS, 1952, p. 68; PCUS, 1953, p. 93). The 1948, PCUS Assembly approved a paper entitled "Roman Catholicism and Protestantism," which concluded, ". . . the ultimate goals of the Roman Catholic Church conflict with fundamental American principles," and ". . . present policies of the Roman Catholic Church endanger our way of life . . ." (PCUS, 1948, pp. 155 & 159). Meanwhile, the PCUSA Assembly of the same year viewed, ". . . with deep apprehension any trend . . . which would give any of the various religious organizations in this country a position of privilege . .." (PCUSA, 1948, p. 206).

In the 1980's, given a reassertion of religion's role in political life, this time largely the product of Protestant evangelical and fundamentalist groups such as the Moral Majority, church/state concerns again emerged as a topic of interest to the Presbyterian General Assemblies. In 1984, the General Assembly adopted a resolution opposing the establishment of diplomatic relations between the U.S. government and the Vatican. Even though its protest proved fruitless in the end, the church was on record as having opposed the establishment of any form of official representation between the federal government and any religious entity (PC(USA), 1984, pp. 350-352). Church-state issues were also raised in the context of laws respecting clergy confidentiality on which the General Assembly made its views known in a 1987 resolution appearing below. Most recently, in 1988, the General Assembly adopted a major policy statement on religious liberty, entitled "God Alone is Lord of the Conscience," also excerpted below.

Rev. Elenora Giddings Ivory
Director, Washington Office
Presbyterian Church (USA)
202-543-1126
202-543-7755 (fax)
100 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Suite 410
Washington, DC 20002

For more information, contact:
Rich Houston, Presbyterian Washington Office, 100 Maryland Ave. NE, Suite 410 Washington, DC 20002 202-543-1126, fax 202-543-7755. Email rhouston@ctr.pcusa.org