Never heard of the proposed Blaine Amendment to the U.S. Constitution? Neither have most Americans. And even if you'd heard, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was irrelevant, considering it was defeated in the late 19th century. Yet the Blaine Amendment's influence remains one of the most pernicious threats to religious liberty in the United States today.
Introduced in 1875, the original Blaine Amendment was an attempt to amend the U.S. Constitution by explicitly banning any government funds from going to "sectarian" institutions. The Amendment gained its name from Senator James G. Blaine, who had just finished three terms as Speaker of the House and had his eye on the Republican nomination for the White House.
