Since the United States was founded on the basis of religious freedom and our Constitution’s First Amendment prohibits a state religion or “established” church, it has always struck me as incongruent that our potentates frequent a place that calls itself the “National Cathedral.”

Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Paine, Franklin, and Charles Carroll of Carrollton probably would have agreed on only a few things about religious beliefs and manners and places of worship. One is that the United States should not have a “National Cathedral”—and certainly not one run by an ecclesiastical body headed by the King of England.

Still, once again we have witnessed the Washington National Cathedral of the Anglican Communion’s Protestant Episcopal Church as the site of a pseudo-official ritual of a civil religion that we are not, by constitution or custom, supposed to have. This week it was a predictably woke remonstration by the cathedral’s bishop, anathematizing our new president and administration for its alleged sins concerning the southern border and the question of how many sexes there are.

The Washington National Cathedral, in more ways than one, is the Disney version of what was long ago the cultural unity of Christian Europe. It is an ersatz edifice operated by clerics who today believe neither in Christianity nor in our nation. Arguably, the dogmas of the current prelates of this cathedral are more aligned with Albigensianism than with Christianity.

Even if there were no controversy about the Episcopal Church’s doctrinal novelties, its promotion of its sanctuary in the capital as the National Cathedral is essentially a deceptive marketing campaign to attract tourists and imply some sort of official government recognition.

The National Cathedral’s website presents a misleading narrative on its history and status. Noting that Pierre L’Enfant’s plan for the city of Washington envisioned setting aside land for a “great church for national purposes,” the cathedral’s publicity agents state, without evidence, that George Washington himself made the statement when it was actually L’Enfant who made it. For what it may be worth, L’Enfant’s statement was made before the ratification of the First Amendment on Dec. 15, 1791.

The cathedral website asserts: “The dream of a ‘national cathedral dates to the earliest days of the United States, when President George Washington and architect Pierre L’Enfant imagined a ‘great church for national purposes.’” The website further states: “The idea for a sacred home for all Americans in the nation’s capital is as old as the country itself. Pierre L’Enfant’s original design for the new capital city included a ‘great church for national purposes,’ an idea that sat idle until a congressional charter authorized a cathedral dedicated to religion, education and charity, in 1893.”

This is utterly misleading. The charter Congress enacted in 1893 was for the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation of the District of Columbia. This charter was not for a “National Cathedral” or a “great church for national purposes.” It was simply a form of legal incorporation, which stated that the said “corporation is hereby empowered to establish and maintain within the District of Columbia a cathedral and institutions of learning for the Degrees, for the promotion of religion and education and charity.”

What is a congressional charter, anyway?

According to Congressional Research Service, “congressional charters of more than 90 organizations …  include those of private, nonprofit corporations that appear to be of a patriotic character or national in scope, such as various veterans’ organizations and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.”

In 1989, the House Judiciary Committee declared a moratorium on congressional charters, stating they “are unnecessary for the operations of any charitable, nonprofit organization and falsely imply to the public that a chartered organization and its activities carry a congressional ‘seal of approval,’ or that the Federal Government is in some way responsible for its operations. … This policy is not based on any decision that the organizations seeking Federal charters are not worthwhile, but rather on the fact that Federal charters serve no valid purpose and therefore ought to be discontinued.”

Nevertheless, the cathedral’s website points to its congressional charter as a reason that “Washington National Cathedral holds a unique place at the intersection of sacred and civic life. As the Cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, we strive to serve God and our neighbors as agents of reconciliation, a trusted voice of moral leadership and a sacred space where the country gathers during moments of national significance.” [Emphasis added.]

If the Episcopal Church were not the archetype of American elitist establishment institutions, few would hesitate to call its “National Cathedral” self-designation at best a marketing gimmick like the National Harbor in Prince George’s County, Maryland, or worse, a hoax.

Perhaps someday the Episcopal Church will awaken from wokeness, which has contributed to its near extinction. At the time of the first United States Census in 1790, the total U.S. population was just under 4 million. The Anglican/Episcopalian church membership was estimated at about 600,000, or 15 percent of the total population. Most Episcopalians were in the southern states, where theirs was the established church. Today, with the nation’s population having increased almost a hundredfold, the nationwide membership of the Episcopal Church is a nominal 1.5 million, with weekly church attendance of about 350,000.

Even if the Episcopal Church were to return to doctrines resembling the apostolic tradition of Christianity, the United States does not establish or recognize an official state church. Of course, it is a commendable thing that our government leaders still see fit to pray at public ceremonies. But neither the Episcopal Church nor any other ecclesiastical body should monopolize the solemn rituals of our national government with the trappings and false implications of it being an official national church.

Last year, America scotched the sanctimonious National Commission on Presidential Debates. As we approach the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain, let’s declare our independence from that artifact of English imperialism, the National Cathedral.

Congress has an opportunity to make things right by repealing the Episcopal cathedral’s congressional charter. In doing so, there is no need to single out the cathedral for some sort of uniquely vindictive act. Because Congress already has stated that “Federal charters serve no valid purpose and therefore ought to be discontinued,” Congress should repeal all of them.