A Declaration of Dependence BY Father Basil Cole, O.P. June 30,
1996 Issue | Posted 6/30/96 at 2:00 PM EVERY JULY 4, we
Americans celebrate the signing of the Declaration of
Independence when the founding fathers declared our freedom from
the British. At the heart of our fledgling country was the
belief that the citizenry could not live in harmony unless there
was a strong religious element in the culture. Our founders
believed that human nature is broken and prone to sin. The
tendency to self-centeredness had to be held in check, they
believed, by fostering a general spirit of religious worship.
When religion becomes isolated from or foreign to a country, its
legal, social and cultural institutions gradually disintegrate.
Instead of being concerned with the common good of the nation,
citizens madly scramble for pleasure, license and material
possessions. Since the end of World War II, religion in our
country has lost its influence on individuals (fewer
churchgoers) and on institutions (the unraveling of laws