There are many arguments for and against the separation of Church and State in the United States. Some focus on what our Founding Fathers wanted, others focus on what is best for the country, and others believe that God has no place in our current government. No matter what your faith, or lack of, there has been evidence throughout history that mixing faith with government is generally a bad idea. Our current government is one that attempts to keep most matters of state separate from religion, but there have been times that those lines seem to be blurring and coming together. This is something that cannot continue for the success of our way of life, and our freedoms that we enjoy in the United States of America.
So-called “Christian Nationalists” believe that the United States should support their Christian religion nationally and in government. They argue that the founding fathers wanted a Christian society, and would be for religion in government. The fundamental flaw in this argument being that the founding fathers specifically worded the constitution in a way that there could not be a national religion. The founding fathers were immigrants from European countries that a majority decided to leave because of their countries oppressive religious governments.
As stated by Austin Cline, “The American government was not designed or set up in any way, shape, or form under the guidance of heaven or in the service of any gods. Government is instituted by humans and for humans, not by gods and for gods. The authority of government stems from the authority of human beings, not from the authority of churches, church leaders, self-proclaimed spokesmen for gods, or indeed any gods themselves.” (1) Which is referencing many written thoughts of our founding fathers that believed religion should be freely practiced in the privacy of ones own home or church. Forcing people to live under one religion is not living in a state of nature, as the founding fathers intended for the United States.
As a matter of public policy in the support of human rights, the United States attempts to promote the freedom of religion with other nations. This might actually be more successful if our own President were promoting the same here at home. In his 2004 State of the Union address, President Bush made a new call for Congress to make his faith-based proposals permanent that would allow religious organizations to compete for more government grants and contracts without a separation between their religious activities and social programs. In essence giving religious groups funding to promote their religion at the same time as helping the population, giving the impression that they have the backing of the United States government. Although the administration has not admitted to backing a specific religion, President Bush has made it clear that he is a Christian and is working for their support. Supported by his first act during his administration as stated by Alan Dershowitz from the Los Angeles Times “The very first act of the new Bush administration was to have a Protestant Evangelist minister officially dedicate the inauguration to Jesus Christ, whom he declared to be ‘our savior.’ Invoking ‘the Father, the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ’ and ‘the Holy Spirit,’ Billy Graham’s son, the man selected by President George W Bush to bless his presidency, excluded the tens of millions of Americans who are Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Shintoists, Unitarians, agnostics, and atheists from his blessing by his particularistic and parochial language.” Our President, arguably the most powerful man in the world, promoting the Christian religion in public speeches, doesn’t sound like he supports freedom of religion.
As if that is not enough we are also subjected to comments from other political figures, including the attorney general John Ashcroft who stated that America has “no king but Jesus.” Or another John Ashcroft quote “We are a nation called to defend freedom- freedom that is not the grant of any government or document, but is our endowment from God.” When you have an entire administration that is blatantly going against the constitution by basically creating a national religion through comments and the overt backing of certain religious beliefs, it becomes a lot harder to maintain any type of separation between church and state.
Keeping the government separated from matters of religion is one of the most important issues we have today. Without a separation we cannot truly be a free society. Would it be freedom to be forbidden from speaking out against a god that you do not believe in? Freedom has to allow for the population to practice whichever religion they choose to, or choose not to. If we start backing specific religions over others we will end up no better off than countries like Saudi Arabia, that have to fear for their life if they choose not to believe in Islam. Saudi Arabia and Iran should be considered a standard for what can happen when religion and politics mix together unabashed. Their streets are filled with religious police, and just about every law they follow comes from their religious doctrine. According to the State Department website, Mutawwa (or Religious Police) in Saudi Arabia, can request proof that a couple is married or related and if not and they deem it appropriate a woman can be arrested for socializing with a man who is not a relative and charged with prostitution.
It is clear that our society necessitates a separation of church and state. If we want to continue to live in our free society, with standards of conduct above those of most civilized nations, we should continue to promote the separation that our founding fathers intended. When we fall victim to certain sects of society and abandon our minority groups and other free thinkers we will erode into a society where free thought is a crime. Continuing to separate our churches from our government is essential for our children and grandchildren.
References
1. http://atheism.about.com/b/a/258197.htm
2. Alan M Dershowitz, in “Bush Starts Off by Defying the the Constitution,” Los Angeles Times, January 24, 2001
3. Christopher Hutchens “God is not Great” Page 49
4. Sam Harris “The End of Faith” Page 154
5. http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1012.html
Tags: Government, Politics, Religion
Tags: Government, Politics, Religion