Jeffress then argued that the idea of separation of church and state, which was first used in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to a group of Baptists in Connecticut, was never about separating Christian faith from public policy, but rather not privileging one particular Christian denomination over another.
“Never in his wildest imagination did Thomas Jefferson ever suspect that one day his letter would be used to prohibit prayer in the public schools, or Bible reading, or nativity displays in the town square, or using the name of Jesus in a commencement speech,” Jeffress said. “That was never in his mind at all.”
Jeffress went on to describe four Supreme Court cases in the 18th and 19th centuries that privileged Christianity over other faiths in legal rulings, some of which referred to non-Christian religions as “imposter” faiths.
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“What happened was we allowed the liberals, the left, the progressives, the humanists, the atheists to pervert our Constitution into something the founders never intended it to be,” Jeffress said, going on to describe three 20th century Supreme Court rulings that enshrined the separation of church and state as a constitutional value.
“What have been the results of 40-plus years of trying to separate our nation from its Christian heritage? Just look at the mass shootings,” Jeffress said. “Just look at that 18-year-old in Uvalde. The racism that sparked the shooting in Buffalo. The immorality that is rampant in our country. Is that just by accident? No, when you teach people they’re nothing but animals, they’re going to act like animals.”
To Jeffress’ mind, the cause of rampant mass shootings, racism, and high abortion rates in the nation is the separation of church and state.
“In recent days, I’ve had reporter after reporter ask me—there’s usually one here at every service, and they talk to me afterwards. They come in from Germany and Switzerland, and so forth. They’re all enthralled by this phrase ‘Christian nationalism,’” Jeffress said.
“‘Pastor, are you a Christian nationalist? Do you believe that the United States of America is unique and exceptional, different from any nation in the world?’ I surprise them when I say, ‘Absolutely not,’” Jeffress said. “God is no respecter of people or nations. God says, ‘Any nation that reverences God will be blessed by God. And any nation, including the United States, that rejects God will be rejected by God. Blessed is the nation—any nation—whose God is the Lord.”
Notably, religious liberty is a theological distinctive of the Southern Baptist Convention, the denomination of which Dallas First Baptist is a part. In 2016, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, which is the public policy arm of the SBC, even advocated for the religious liberty of Muslims in New Jersey who were facing local ordinances inhibiting them from building a mosque.
ChurchLeaders reached out to Dallas First Baptist, who told ChurchLeaders, “Dr. Jeffress’ sermon speaks for itself and the church has nothing else to add.”
