Separation of Church and State
Netpilot over at The Boileryard has a great overview of the historical arguments over separation of church & state. Here’s the short version:
Although the words “separation of church and state” do not appear in the Bill of Rights, a letter from Thomas Jefferson commenting on the Bill makes it clear that the first ammendment was intended to build a “wall of separation between church and state.”
Netpilot: “the question we should be debating is not if the ‘wall of separation’ to which Jefferson referred was intended to be built by the first amendment, but rather how high and thick should the wall be built.”
Unfortunately, this was a point of contention even in the days of the founding fathers. On the one side you had people like Samuel Adams, who believed that “that religious toleration should be extended to all Christians, with the exception of Catholics and Papists.” On the other side, you had people like Jefferson and Madison, who opposed the appointment of chaplains for the House and Senate.
It’s not like some judge just decided to start this debate in the 1970’s. The debate over separation of church and state has been going on for centuries.
Here ends my summary and starts my commentary: I think that it’s OK for politicians to discuss their own religious beliefs, as Bush does frequently. I also think that the ACLU needs to relax a little bit: Having a nativity scene on public land won’t hurt anybody.
On the other hand, the government needs to be careful to avoid even the appearance of supporting any particular religion. That’s why I think the ten commandments monument needed to come down. Can you imagine being a Muslim on trial, walking into the courtroom, and seeing the religious iconography of Christianity and Judaism on the wall? Would you feel like you were getting a fair trial?
Can you imagine the outcry if a public school teacher led her class every morning in a prayer to Krishna?
Can you imagine being told that you couldn’t teach your child your “non-mainstream” religion? Oh, wait….
Unfortunately, separation of church and state has been taken to the point of extremes in some cases. Students in public schools ought to be able to pray over their meals, for example. (I’ve been told they can’t; can any public school kids fill me in?) But at its heart, separation of church and state is wise and sensible public policy.
June 2nd, 2005 at 9:44 am
So..we should be making major policy based on someone’s letter to someone?
It seems to me that the founding Fathers did not mean that government and God should be completely divorced from each other, as some seem to think these days, because when you read their writings and speeches and public proclamations, there are frequent references to God. And I have always heard it was meant to be more of a protection of religion from governmental interference.
For an interesting article on sepration of church and state, see http://www.wallbuilders.com/resources/search/detail.php?ResourceID=9
June 2nd, 2005 at 4:11 pm
Yes. Absolutely. When the author of the letter is also one of the authors of the document you’re trying to understand, it makes perfect sense to use the letter as a commentary.
I do that some build the wall of separation too high at times. As I said, my position is that the government needs to avoid any official backing, and any appearance of any official backing, of any particular religion or sect.
Individual officials are welcome to voice their belief in whatever god they believe in, as long as they don’t A) demand that others believe in their god while they wield the power of the state B) take a position that favors one religion over another.
That was definitely a part of it, but remember that America was settled by religious refugees fleeing the Catholic and Anglican churches, both of which were given their teeth by the power of the state. By separating the power of the state from the doctrines of the church, the Bill of Rights ensures that the state cannot be used as a tool for Inquisitions and other religious warfare.
June 5th, 2005 at 10:00 pm
Amen! Preach it, brother! I agree with everything you’ve written here.
August 21st, 2006 at 12:18 am
[…] I have long maintained that separation of church and state is not the great evil that my Christian school teachers and pastors have made it out to be. In fact, separation of church and state is one of the things that makes this country great. […]
August 2nd, 2007 at 2:10 pm
[…] I have long maintained that separation of church and state is not the great evil that my Christian school teachers and pastors have made it out to be. In fact, separation of church and state is one of the things that makes this country great. […]