Title
James Madison and Legislative Chaplains
Abstract
Most judges and commentators who have examined James Madison’s attitude toward the legislative chaplaincy have concluded from certain of his actions that he, like the other Framers of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, probably supported the congressional chaplaincy as it was being instituted in the first House of Representatives, although he may have changed his mind later in life. This Article canvasses the historical evidence about Madison’s life and writings in an attempt to understand his attitude toward legislative chaplains. The Article concludes that Madison probably never wavered on the issue of legislative chaplains and always thought them inconsistent with religious liberty. This conclusion counsels reappraisal of the lines of Establishment Clause jurisprudence founded on the Framers’ supposed uniform acceptance of the congressional chaplaincy and similar religiously imbued practices.
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