By Mike Reid

On Saturday, January 17, 2009, WASH held its annual Winter Banquet in historic Fredericksburg, Virginia.  In previous years, we have held the banquet at a restaurant in Washington, DC; however, this year we did something different.  Last spring, several members from the Fredericksburg Secular Humanists (FSH) chapter of WASH proposed to the WASH Board of Directors a new and creative idea.  They suggested holding the banquet in Fredericksburg in recognition of the 230th anniversary of the writing of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom.  This monumental statute assured religious freedom, protected the rights of religious minorities, and codified the separation of church and state in Virginia.  It was a precursor and model for the vital Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  Thomas Jefferson wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1779 amidst the mayhem of the then raging war of the American Revolution. The Virginia legislature enacted the bill into law in 1786.

A consummate protean, Thomas Jefferson was a scholar, philosopher, scientist, statesman, Founding Father of this country, President of the United States, and importantly, a secularist.  Throughout his long and illustrious career, he was a staunch advocate of religious freedom and the separation of church and state.  Of the many gifts that Jefferson gave to the United States and to the world, none can be more important than the premise that religion and government should not intermingle.  The state should be secular and take a detached and neutral position on all matters of religion while individuals are free to openly practice the faith of their choice, and that includes no faith, without interference from government or from other religions.  Under Jefferson’s Virginia statute and later the First Amendment to the Federal constitution, no person could be compelled to practice or support any religion or religious institution either directly or indirectly through government sponsorship.  While he did not coin the term “Wall of separation” between church and state, he is famously remembered for applying it. Like many of the intellectuals of his day, including most of his colleagues among the primary Founding Fathers, Jefferson was not a conventional Christian.  He was a deist.  He rejected most traditional religious doctrine, so much so that he even edited his own version of the Bible from which he excised all of the miracles and other tenets that he considered inconsistent or logically non-viable.  Religious freedom and secular government were vitally important to Jefferson.  So much so, that of the many great accomplishments of his life, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was one of the three of which he was the most proud and chose to include in his epitaph.  The other two are his primary authorship of the Declaration of Independence and his founding of the University of Virginia.

The banquet was held at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg in the elegant, colonial-style Seacobeck Hall.  Fittingly, the event had an Eighteenth Century theme to it.  Leading and organizing the effort were FSH chapter coordinator Pat Chen and WASH Board member and FSH co-founder Tim Travis.  Generous financial sponsorship from several members made it possible for us to provide seats at the tables for some students and to bring in dancers and a special guest.  The special guest who attended the banquet and greeted and socialized with the other attendees was—Thomas Jefferson.  We created a time portal to the year 1779 and he stepped through it to join us.  OK, not really, but it sure seemed like it and we had the next best thing.

Professional historical reenactor and Jefferson historian Steven Edenbo recreated the illustrious Founding Father for us.  Steven Edenbo’s portrayal of Jefferson is, in a word, amazing.  While in costume, Edenbo’s physical resemblance to the young Jefferson is uncanny.  But his portrayal goes far beyond  appearance.  Combining the  theatric skills of a trained actor with an in-depth knowledge of Jefferson’s life, writings, and times, Edenbo creates a portraiture of him that is so convincing that I feel as if I have actually met Thomas Jefferson.

Keeping with the Colonial era theme of the afternoon, the Fredericksburg Colonial Heritage Society Dancers, in Eighteenth Century attire, entertained the guests by demonstrating dances from the era.  Two musicians, also in period costume, provided the music.  The dancers and the musicians performed superbly.

Returning to the Twenty-First Century, Lori Lipman Brown of the Secular Coalition for America was the featured speaker.  She spoke on the current state of church state separation in the United States.  In one afternoon, we heard from one of the people who instituted the wall of separation of church and state at the founding of this country and then from one of its most ardent defenders today.  As a finale, humanist celebrant and WASH Board member Jenny Kalmanson gave an oration on humanist values that was recorded for archive at the Library of Congress.  The 2009 WASH Winter Banquet was a stunning success!  Thanks to the sponsors and dedicated volunteers, especially at FSH, who made it all happen.

Mike Reid is a member of the WASH Board of Directors and co-editor of WASHline

(This article is reproduced from the March 2009 issue of WASHline)