As we approach the 248th anniversary of our country’s independence from England, marked by the upcoming Fourth of July, it’s a fitting time to delve into the Declaration of Independence. This foundational document, often overlooked, contains the profound thoughts of our Founding Fathers based on their understanding of Natural Law, a concept that should continue to shape our society today.
Unlike those who adamantly disregard religion, the Fathers of our country knew a new political system must include fundamental truths about a person’s right to live in freedom, which are independent truths outside of any governmental dictum. By doing so, the architects of the Declaration denounced any monarchy deigning to abscond a God-given right as their own. According to them, the basis for this stand was self-evident, meaning they knew it as the revelation of Natural Law.
The opening two paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence stand as a testament to its enduring relevance and the enduring application of Natural Law. They eloquently articulate the timeless right of every individual to live in liberty and freedom. While the subsequent sections detail the grievances against King George III and his Parliament, these enduring values, rooted in Natural Law, remain steadfast at the document’s core.
Some in our present age argue that laws should be divorced from religion and personal faith. This philosophy is based on the belief that religion is a purely private matter, dealing only with the spiritual realm, while government and politics have authority over temporal issues. This is the basis for the oft-cited phrase, “separation between Church and State.” However, as we will see, the document itself contradicts this view. The Founding Fathers used religious language not to separate governance from belief, but to build upon it, shaping a philosophy of governance deeply rooted in faith.
The first paragraph states: “When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare causes which impel to the separation.”
Notice that the founders specifically refer to the laws of nature directed and ordered by God. Those powerful words first written in the draft were not changed or altered in the final version. In other words, God gives humans the right to be free, an understanding consistent with our faith where all persons have been given the gift of freedom, individually and socially.
The second paragraph begins with the famous sentence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that their Creator endows them with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
The rhetoric in the first draft was “truth is sacred and undeniable,” which was later changed to self-evident. Those inclined to believe the Fathers softened the original language to lessen Christian influence would be premature in their conclusion.
Although we may never know why “sacred” was removed, we can infer that self-evident is simply a synonym for sacred. The meaning remains. Five hundred years before the writing of the Declaration, St. Thomas Aquinas used “self-evident” in his writings on Natural Law.
The country’s founders were not theologians, but St. Thomas Aquinas, five hundred years before, was. The Church doctor teaches that through natural law, humans can also know other things self-evidently. These things include life itself, the bond of marriage, and the difference between good and evil. Self-evidence means a level of knowledge infused in a person from God without any formal education. The greatest of these self-evident truths is a person’s freedom.
As we approach the Fourth of July again, it is good to remember that liberty is a right given by God, not the government. This is what our Founding Fathers thought; this is what the Declaration of Independence says, and this is what everyone knows inherently.