Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders
“Ben Franklin reminds us that a good religion shouldn’t need government authorities to force people to follow it. This is one of the Founders’ primary justifications for keeping church and state separate. What’s as interesting in the American context is that the same justification applies to the laws governing a people. The higher the quality of the law, the less it needs enforcers. Of course, some people leave their religions just as some people break the law. But that doesn’t mean Ben Franklin was wrong. He’s not talking about unanimity. He’s talking about the kind of value that makes a religion sustainable.” (10/20/25)