The Freedom From Religion Foundation is urging the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners to repeal a Christian heritage proclamation, which the foundation says is a case of a government inappropriately advancing a Christian agenda.
The commissioners unanimously approved the 445-word proclamation at its Tuesday night meeting in Wilkesboro, according to a video of the meeting.
Before the vote, Commissioner Keith Elmore asked two Wilkes County attorneys if the proclamation posed any legal jeopardy to the county. The attorneys replied that it would not.
"The Wilkes County Board of Commissioners proclaim and recognize our Christian Heritage and urge all citizens to proclaim Christianity's important influence in the foundation and life in our county, state and nation," according to the proclamation.
In a statement, the foundation said the proclamation “twists American history to paint a false narrative perpetuating the myth that America is a Christian nation.”
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The Freedom From Religion Foundation, which is based in Madison, Wis., is a national nonprofit organization.
The proclamation quotes the preamble of the N.C. Constitution, including its reference to “Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations …”
The proclamation then names several founding fathers — Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison — “attempting to paint them with a Christian nationalist brush by attributing various religious quotes to them,” the foundation said.
“These and many other truly great men and women of America, giants in the structuring of American history, were statesmen with high caliber and integrity, who did not hesitate to express their faith,” the proclamation says.
“Christian Heritage provides our citizens with an opportunity to acknowledge blessings to contemplate and offer solutions to the numerous challenges society faces, and to be rededicated to our nation's spiritual ancestry,” the proclamation says.
Elmore said Friday that Wilkes County attorneys are reviewing the foundation's statement about the proclamation "and should respond."
Before the commissioners voted on the proclamation, two people said they were opposed to the proclamation, and two people said they supported it.
John Wiles of Elkin said he didn't come to the commissioners' meeting to speak against religion or Christianity.
"I'm here to speak in favor of good sense and small, efficient and effective government," Wiles said.
Wilkes County has many Christian churches that do good for many people, Wiles said.
"There is no sense in government supporting something that is strong and thriving on its own," Wiles said. "To me, that's government overreach."
In addition, Wilkes County likely will incur legal expenses defending the proclamation, Wiles said.
"I, as a taxpayer, don't want to pay to defend this," Wiles said. "We do good without it."
The Rev. David Dyer, the pastor of Fairplains Baptist Church in North Wilkesboro, said he supported the proclamation "recognizing the biblical and Christian heritage we have as Wilkes County and American citizens."
George Washington was a true leader during a time of crisis in the country, Dyer said.
"I mention that because we are in a time of crisis," Dyer said. "If there has ever been a moment to proclaim the importance of the biblical heritage we have, it's today."
Dyer praised the commissioners for supporting the proclamation, knowing that people will disagree with them.
David White of the Boomer community in southern Wilkes County said he also supported the proclamation.
"Everything we can do to point some kind of direction to young people that there still is a remnant in America that honors God," White said.
Kathryn Charles of the Purlear community said the proclamation attributes quotes to the founding fathers that differs from what historical records have indicated was actually said.
"In Wilkes County, we must proclaim that there are many honest, decent people in our community who contribute to our community," Charles said. Many of them are not Christian, she said.
"The proclamation seems to go against the separation of church and state, so I basically don't see how it fits with your responsibilities as county commissioners," Charles said.
Stoney Greene, the chairman of the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners, didn’t return a Journal reporter’s phone calls and an email seeking comment. Wilkes County Manager John Yates couldn’t be reached Friday for comment.
In addition, Commissioners Casey Joe Johnson, Bill Sexton and Greg Minton didn’t return a Journal reporter’s emails and phone calls seeking comment.
The proclamation attributes generic references to religion or God as supporting a Christian heritage, the foundation said.
“This is further exemplified by the fact that the founders quoted in the proclamation were not Christians. Benjamin Franklin, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson were deists; George Washington was likely a Christian deist, but his religious affiliation is debatable,” the foundation said.
In a letter to Greene, Christopher Line, a foundation staff attorney, described the proclamation as a “clear breach of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”
“By issuing this proclamation advancing Christian nationalism and the debunked myth that we are a Christian nation, Wilkes County is ironically violating the country’s true heritage of religious liberty based on a secular government,” Line wrote.
“Cherry picking facts, many of them distortions of the truth, does not change the fact that the United States was founded as secular nation,” Line wrote. “We are a country where you are free to be a Christian if you choose, not a Christian nation.”
Every reference to religion in the U.S. Constitution is exclusionary, the foundation said, including prohibitions on religious tests for public office, in the oath of office for the presidency and in the First Amendment’s bar of any congressional establishment of religion.
“The separation between state and church is among one of the most fundamental principles of our system of government,” the foundation said.
The Wilkes County proclamation “alienates nonreligious and non-Christian citizens in Wilkes County by turning them into political outsiders in their own community,” the foundation said.
Wilkes County has a diverse population with diverse religious beliefs, including Jews, Muslims, atheists and agnostics, the foundation said.
As elected officials, the Wilkes County commissioners are charged with great responsibility and trust by Wilkes County citizens, including those who may not share the same religious viewpoints — which is why the foundation is asking for the proclamation to be rescinded, the foundation said.
“The framers of our godless Constitution wanted to establish a nation where religion had no bearing on our civil government,” said Annie Laurie, the foundation’s president. “These commissioners have no business promoting false history in order to advance their religious agenda.”
If the Wilkes commissioners don’t repeal the proclamation, the foundation would consider taking legal action against them, said Amit Pal, a foundation spokesman.
“It’s an option,” Pal said.
The foundation has several chapters across the country, including more than 900 members and a chapter in Durham, the foundation said. Its purpose is to protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church.