MYTH 6: The First Amendment's religion clauses were intended only
to prevent the establishment of a national church.

     If all the framers wanted to do was ban a national church,
they had plenty of opportunities to state exactly that in the First
Amendment. In fact, an early draft of the First Amendment read in
part, "The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of
religious belief, nor shall any national religion be
established...." This draft was rejected. Following extensive
debate, the language found in the First Amendment today was settled
on.

     The historical record indicates that the framers wanted the
First Amendment to ban not only establishment of a single church
but also "multiple establishments," that is, a system by which the
government funds many religions on an equal basis.

     A good overview of the development of the language of the
First Amendment is found in scholar John M. Swomley's 1987 book
Religious Liberty and the Secular State. Swomley shows that during
the House of Representatives' debate on the language of the
religion clauses, members specifically rejected a version reading,
"Congress shall make no law establishing any particular
denomination in preference to another...." The founders wanted to
bar all religious establishments; they left no room for "non-
preferentialism," the view touted by today's accommodationists that
government can aid religion as long as it assists all religions
equally. (The Senate likewise rejected three versions of the First
Amendment that would have permitted non-preferential support for
religion.)

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