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The Commoner
VOBTJMB 8, NUMBER 41
"RELIGION IN POLITICS
99
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BY THEODORE ROOSEVELT
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Tho newspapers of November 9. carried tho
following Associated Press dispatches:
Washington, . November 8. "Secretary
Tafl's religious fallh is purely his own private
concern and not a matter for general discussion
and political discrimination," says President
Itoosovelt in a letter he made public tcnight,
in which ho answers numerous correspondents.
Tho president says he deferred the publication
of the letter until now to avoid any agitation
likely to influence the election. 'The letter
follows:
"November 6, 1908. My Dear Sir: I have
received your letter, iimning in part as follows:
" 'While it is claimed almost universally
that religion should not enter into politics, yet
there is no denying that it does, and the mass
of the voters that are not Catholics "will not
support a man for any ofllce, especially 'for presi
dent of tho United States, who is a Roman Cath-
nltn Qlnnrt 'foff Tioo Tin on nAmttiotnrl frt nracL
dent bv tho renuhlican nartv. it is bninir elro.ii-
lated and is constantly urged as a reason for
not voting for Taft that ho is an infidel (Un'
tarlan) , and his wife and brother Roman Cath
olics. If his feelings are. in sympathy
with the Roman Catholic church on account of
.lite wife and brother being Catholics, that
wohJc! be objectionable to a sufficient number
'-of 'rgt"tO' defeat him. On the other hand if
he-is:ariMni3de,tbat-,would be sure to mean: de
feat. 1 am writing ;his letter for the
sole purpose of giving, "Mr. Taft an opportunity
to Ifet the -world know what his' religious be
lief is.
"I -received many such letters as yours: dur
ing '.the campaign, expressing dissatisfaction
with ' Mr.' Taft on religioiiB grounds; some of
them on the ground that he was a Unitarian,
and others on the ground that he was suspected
u to oe in- sympathy with Catholics. I did not
U answer anv of these letters rtuvlnir thn mm..
paign because I regarded It qs -an outrage even
to agitate such a question as a mans religious
convictions, with tho purpose of Influencing a
political election. But now that .the campaign
1b over, 'wlien there is an opportunity for men
calmly to consider whither such propositions
as those you make in your letter would lead,
I wish to invite you to consider them, and I
have selected your letter to answer because you
advance both the objections commonly urged
against Mr. Taft, namely, that he is a Unitarian
and also that he is suspected of sympathy with
the Catholics.
wYou ask that Mr. Taft shall 'let the world
know1 wlmt his religious belief is.' This is
purely his own private concern, and it is a mat
.ter between him and his Maker, a matter for
-li 6wn conscience and to require it to be made
publlc-under penalty of political discrimination
is to negative the first principles of our govern
ment which guarantee complete religious lib
erty, and the right to each man to act in relig--
lous &- r8 as hl8 own conscience dictates.
'Mr. Taft never asked my advice in the
matter, but if he had asked It, I should have
emphatically advised him against thus stating
publicly, his religious belief. The demand for
a statement of a candidate's religious belief can
have no meaning except that there may be dis
crimination for or against him because of that
belief. Discrimination against the holder of
one faith means retaliatory discrimination
against men of other faiths. The inevitable
result of our real freedom of conscience and a
reversion to the dreadful conditions of religious
dissension which, In so many lands, have proved
fatal to true liberty, to true religion and to all
advance in civilization.
"To discriminate against a thoroughly up
right citizen because he. belongs to some par
ticular church, or because, like Abraham Lin
coln, he has not avowed his allegiance to any
church, is an outrage against that liberty of
conscience which is one of tho foundations of
American life. You are entitled to know wheth
er a man seeking your suffrages is a man of
clean fiand upright life, honorable In all his
dealings with bis fellows, apd fit by qualifica
tion d purpose to do well In the great ofllce
for which he Is a. caadldate, but you are npt
eatltlg, to know matters which He purely be
tween himself mad his. .Maker. If. it is proper.
or legitimate to appose a'ticuur for olBg a
Unitarian, as was John Quincy Adams, for in
stance, as is the Rev. Edward Everett Hale, at
tho present moment chaplain of the senate, and
an American of whose life all good Americans
are proud,, then it would be equally proper to
support or oppose a man because of his views
on justification by faith, or the method of ad
ministering the sacrament, or the gospel of
salvation by works. If you once enter oh such
a career there is absolutely no limit at which you
can legitimately stop.
"So much for your objections to Mr. Taft
because he is a Unitarian. Now,, for your ob
jections to him because you think his wife and
brother to be Roman Catholics. As it happens,
they are not, but if they -were, or if he were a
Roman Catholic lilmself, it ought not to affect
in the slightest degree any man's supporting
him for the position of president. You say that
'the mass of the voters that are not Catholics
will not support a man for any ofllce, especially
for president of the United States, who is a
Roman Catholic' I believe that -when you say
this you foully slander your lellow country
men. I do not for one moment believe that
the mass of our fellow citizens, or that any con
siderable number of our fellow citizens, :can be
influenced -by such narrow bigotry as to -refuse
to vote for any thoroughly upright and fit man.
because hB happens to have a particular -religious
creed. Such a consideration should never
be. treated s-'a reason, for either supporting or
opposing a- candidate for n political tfflce. Are
you nware that there are several, states in this
- Trnlon -where tire -majority of the "people are now
Catholics? I should reprobate In the severest
terms the Catholics who In those states: (or in
any other states), who refuse to, vote for the
most fit man because he happened, to be a
Protestant, and my condemnation, would be ex
actly as severe for Protestants who, under re-
versed circumstances, refused to :vote. for a
Catholic .Tn public life I anx.hanpy tci sav that.
J- have known many. -men whcr-were elected and
constantly re-elected to office in districts where
th great majority of their constituents were
of a: different religions belief. I know Catholics
who have for many years represented constitu
encies mainly Protestant, and Protestants who
have for many years represented constituencies
mainly Catholic, and among the congressmen
'whom T know particularly well was one man
of Jewish faith who represented a district in
which there were hardly any Jews at all. All
of these men by their very existence in political
life refute the slander you have uttered against
your fellow Americans.
"I believe that this republic will endure
for many centuries. Tf so. there will doubtless
be among Its presidents' Protestants ,and Catho
lics; and very probably at some time Jews. I
have consistently tried, while president, to act
In relation to my fellow Americans of Catholic
faith as T hope that any future president who
happens to be a Catholic will act towards his
fellow Americans of Protestant faith. Had I
followed any other course I should have felt
that 1 was unfit to represent the American
people.
"Tn my cabinet at the present moment there
sit side by sfde Catholic and, Protestant, Chris-"
tian and Jew, each man chosen because, in my
belief, he Is particularly fit to exercise on be
half of all our people the duties of the office
to which t have appointed him. Tn no case does
the man's religious belief In any way influence
his discharge of bis duties, save as It makes
him more eager to act justly and uprightly In
his relation to all men. The same principles
that have obtained In appointing the members
of my cabinet, the highest officials under me the
officials to whom Is entrusted the work of'car
rylng out all the Important policies of my ad
ministration, are the principles npon which all
good Americans should act In choosing, whether
by election or appointment, the men to fill any
office from the highest to the lowpst in ta
land, ; THEODORE ROOSEVELT
"Mr. J. C. Martin.; Dayton. Ohio." , flf
WHAT LEADING CHURCHMEN? SAY " -
Baltimore, November' t.CarIpal0 GfV
.bona, upon, being shown a copy of PriwT
.-Roosevelt's letter relative to the wll2ffi S
things about the letter: First, it is well worth
reading and pondering; second, I knew it was
coming out."
New York, November 8. Commenting on
the letter of President Roosevelt dealing with
Mr. Taffs religious faith and with religious
prejudice in general, Rabbi Joseph Silverman,
of Temple Emanuel, said tonight: "I consider
President Roosevelt's views on religion and
politics as safe, sano and sound."
Rabbi. Grossman 'offered the following com
ment: "This letter expresses the very gist of
Americanism and should be classed with Wash
ington's letter to the Jews of Newport and tho
emancipation proclamation of Lincoln."
Rabbi W. HaTris, Temple-Israel, in Harlem,
said: "It seems to1 me that the views expressed
by Mr. Roosevelt are -so thoroughly sound from
a common 'sense point of view, so broad from a
religious point of view and so consistent from an
American point of viow that no right-minded
. citizen can nossibly object to them."
AT; !1!IE LINCOLN RECEPTION
-. Addressing- his neighbors in , the city of
Lincoln on the evening before election, Mr.
Bryan spoke as follows:
- Ladies and Gentlemen: I shall not make
a political speech tonight among my neighbors.
-As 'the recipient of such a generous welcome I
.shall speak to you as'ajnan to those who live
rbeside him: There -are unpleasant features in pub
lic life;bufits' rewards far outweigh "its unpleas
ant -part, rand nothing has occurred in my life
'that' 1,: appreciate more1 than 'the cordial recep
."tion .thdt:ou have given me in my home city
at the 'Close of this campaign To have lived
among you with -the publicity tnat attaches the
presidential campaign, and tien to nave evidence
of your, good will, makes this night memorable
in my life. While it has sometimes been hu-
' -miliatfrig to have it tnrown up to me in other
- Tpartstof'the country that my city has never given
me a majority-
Voices: We. will give It to you this time.
: .Mr. Bryan: While, I repeat, it has been
humiliating, yet as a matter of fact I have al
ways had a large complimentary vote from the
republicans of Lincoln. When I ran for con
gress in 1890 T was only defeated in this county
by a little more than four hundred and when
again I ran- for congress in 1892 I was only de
feated in this county a little more than three
hundred and even in the heat of presidential
campaigns I have always had a larger number
of votes from, men who were not connected with
the political party of which I am a member;
and if this fact were known there would not
, have been so much criticism because T have
never carried this city with its large republican
normal majority, and I want to thank the re
publicans who in the past have given me their
votes. Without the votes of many, republicans
I would not have been elected in 1892 for my
majority was only 140 and without that election
I would not have been nominated for the presi
dency in 1896, and therefore I can feel grateful
to the republicans who gave me ray start and
whose votes were absolutely necessary to my
election on that occasion. And whatever the
republicans of Lincoln may do in the future,
they have done enough in the past by laying
the foundation for my political career, to make
me their debtor while I live.
My friends, I am at the end of my third
presidential campaign. Tomorrow fifteen mil
lions of voters will decide whether I am to oc
cupy the seat that Washington and Jefferson and
Jackson and Lincoln occupied. You will have
your part .In that victory or in that defeat. It
may bo that the election will turn on Nebraska'
and It may be that Nebraska will turn on votes
so few in number that the city of Lincoln may
decide my fate, ff fate decrees that I shall
be added to the list of presidents, and Nebraska
added to the list of states that have furnished
presidents, I shall rejoice with you. If. on the
, -other hand, the election shall bt against me I
.can fef)iat I have left nothing undone that
,1 couldr,qe done to bring success to rayjcause.
.And, ray friends, 1 shall find private life so full
, of jpy tpat i ahall . not miss the presidency.
" I hae been the child bf fortune frdm my
birth. God gave me 4nto the keeping of a
Christian father and a Christian mother. They