MOUNT VERNON — Knox County Juvenile Court Judge James Ronk, in the fifth part of the lecture series being featured at the Knox County Memorial Theater, explained how the first 16 words of the Bill of Rights affect the freedom of religion in our country, and the world and U.S. history which shaped those words.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” reads the opening line of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“I think the position of these words in the very first amendment should tell us how important this concept was to the Founding Fathers,” Ronk told the audience.

Putting the freedom of religion section of the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights into historical context, Ronk gave a quick overview of 16th and 17th century history, including the historical significance of the teachings of two great religious reformers — Martin Luther and John Calvin.

The judge explained how the Roman Catholic Church was the unquestioned established church of Europe until the 15th Century, and how Luther and Calvin’s break with the Catholic Church led to the religious persecution suffered by some of their Protestant followers in the following struggle between Catholics and Protestants. Ronk then showed a timeline illustrating the wars which followed as a result.

“What we’re talking about here were some very lengthy wars,” Ronk said. “These were all wars between Catholics and Protestants over 200 years — all in the name of religion. This is the background that influenced our Founding Fathers.”

Ronk then used the words of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black to make sense of all the history he explained in the first portion of his lecture.

melissa.raines@mountvernonnews.com