Why do you think that the division of church and state is so blurred nowadays?

Question

I've noticed that alot of my friends base their political ideals on whatever they hear in church. Why do you think that so many people do not know how to seperate their personal religious beliefs from their political beliefs? And do you think that politics should be influenced by religion?

Answer 1

I think it is one of the most frightening political trends of the last 50 years. I don't judge someone's religious belief, but I will fight them tooth and nail when they attempt to use the government as a tool for prosyletisation.

People like "Mister Truth" who think it's great are people who want to create a theocracy. They're the Christian version of the Ayatollahs or the Taliban.

The law is meant to treat people of all races, creeds, and religions equally. Not all, probably not even a majority of Christians, fail to recognize this fact. That's why many on here can only debate issues using the Bible.

All well and good when having a discussion about religious beliefs, but when you ask them to provide "facts", all they can give you is their version of "the truth".

While Evangelicals will likely scoff, I am a Christian and I do attend a mainstream church (though not as often as I should). It just happens to be one that allows us to shape our own political beliefs and doesn't try to convert people by insulting their current beliefs or telling them that they are worthless.

A lack of understanding about the Constitution makes for an under-educated voter. Sadly, there are quite a bit of them out there.

Answer 2

First of all, the Constitution does not call for the division of church and state. The Constitution says "Congress shall make no law establishing a religion". I'd like to know what parts of "Congress shall make no law" does Congress not understand.

As for religious vs politicla beliefs I do agree that most people mix the two far too often. Politics and government are there for creating laws so that we here on earth can get along in a civilized fashion relating to keeping individuals from interfering with the basic human rights of other individuals.

If you are doing something that is not harming anyone else, there should be no government interference.

When religion is forced upon us by government then it is not of our own free will, it is actions at gunpoint. Sin should not be punished by men with guns, it should be up to our creator to decide our fate.

Answer 3

I think you're misunderstanding what the division between church and state means. The point of separation of church and state is not to separate them within individual people, but to make sure that the government is a secular body that ALL the nation's people can respect.

If one belongs to a religion, one cannot help but be affected in all areas by the beliefs. Religion might be the reason someone is anti-war, anti-drug, or anti-choice. That's perfectly fine.

However, it is my personal belief that nobody has the right to impose their religion on me. Their is a basic morality we can all live with, but that morality comes more from common sense than from the Bible. As long as the Bible (or any other creed) is not the law of the land, I will be happy.

Answer 4

When you have a population as diversified as the U.S.-it is pertinent to have a division between church and state! With the FREEDOM to practice ANY religion, the religious right in this country (Christians) don't understand that if a cross can be placed in front of a public building-IE; your state capitol-then they better be prepared to put a star of David, a five pointed star, the Muslim crescent & star, a statue of Buddha etc..
Politics in the U.S. should be for ALL people, not just Christians. Therefore, a definite separation MUST exist.....for ALL to have equal protection of rights.
Yes this country WAS founded on Judeo-Christian beliefs, but it is 2006 not 1776....the country is filled with all different sorts of ethnicity's, religions etc.-the judeo-christian form of Government that the Right is always whining about wanting, just can't be!!!

Answer 5

This division is blurred because there is a war against it! The right-wing christian types are on the war-path, and are trying to turn America into a theocracy based on the bible instead of the Constitution!
The Republicans have basically sold their soul to the Religious Right. And while I doubt that lots of these politicians are actually really BELIEVERS, they've discovered that paying lip-service to Jesus is the best thing they can do to get the ignorant vote. They can do everything in the universe that hurts regular people, destorys our freedoms, etc. (They'll give tax breaks to millionares & corporations while working people get the shaft, etc). But as long as they have cornered the market about JUST TALKING A BIG GAME ABOUT JESUS, millions of semi-literate Americans will vote for them.
Get a first-row seat, we're probably witnessing the beginning of the end of America as we know it!

Answer 6

Ha Ha, these questions always crack me up.Good for the lot of your friends that stay true to the foundation the United States was built on.
Have you ever actually read and studied the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution of the United States.Are you even remotely aware of who founded this country,why they founded it,and on what principles it was founded.
No where does it say or indicate that God or religion should not be a part of your decision making politically.This country was founded by Christians.They did provide that no one should tell another what religion to adhere too, but they never made provision for the absence of God,as he was and is an integral part of all the ideologies those documents were formed upon.
The supreme court beginning in 1962 started this downward spiral that is now manifested in this keep God and religion out of the government.It is provided that no religion or theological belief system should sway the governmental processes but it is not provided that either should be excluded from ideologies, in fact it is provided they should be included in those ideologies.And it was the obvious intention of the founders that they remain an integral part of legal and moral foundations our government is exacted from.
It was not the founders intention for example that same sex marriage be constitutionally amended,while the ten commandments were prohibited from public display as not to offend atheist or non christian citizens.This same supreme court recites God save the court and the United States at the opening of every session.
No one is saying that legislation should be decided on christian belief systems nor that anyone should adhere to a belief system they choose not too, this is a free democracy.What is being said and missed is that while you can separate church and state in legislation you can not separate God and the United States and its declarations or constitution,as they are intertwined at the very core level.
Murder is illegal because it is morally wrong according to the law of God which is where the moral judgment to enact this as a law comes from,as well as all other moral laws,that pretty much make up most of the laws that define the United States and its legislative and legal decisions prior to 1962,when the supreme court decided (because of political and PAC dollars causing unconstitutional influence from politicians and lobbyist) that separation meant exclusion it does not.I am separate from you but we are not excluded from one another as beings or citizens in this case.This is not an evangelical movement nor is it something new, it is as old as our nation.Every nation including communist nations form their governments based on the general consensus of the theories they adhere too.You could not move a million Christians into Saudi Arabia and expect the government their to ignore their Muslim based ideologies or change the laws to exclude Muslims and cater to the Christians.Certainly Christians would have the right to worship as they choose,but they would not be allowed to remove Allah as the core Deity of a Muslim nation.As for putting a star of David or Buddha in front of city hall in America not likely but constitutionally correct, if the people voted for its erection.The simple fact is that it is absurd to think that the theological ideology core of America and its founding documents is going to go away.Isn't it funny that no one wants God involved until their in trouble and then the first words out of their mouth is "oh God help me", there are no atheist in fox holes.Good for your friends there vision is not blurred.

Answer 7

Because our beloved country has been overrun by right wing religious nutcases that do not recognize a separation of church and state.

These people have only one goal, and that is to turn the US into a theocracy.

In a theocracy you have no rights other than what is allowed by their narrow definition of the religious text.

Remember one thing, just because the theocracy may be Christianity does not make it any less extreme or less dangerous that an Islamic Theocracy such as the Taliban.

Answer 8

I dont think it is any more blurred today than it was a hundred years ago. I think as long as we have been a nation, for that matter almost any nation, people's Ideals, Beliefs, and Morals, both involving politics and society have been heavily based on their religious beliefs. I think the reason we notice it more today than a hundred years ago, is that we have become WAY too politicaly correct for our own good.

Answer 9

Many people take their religion as their way of life, which politics naturally effects. Faced with such things as 'Eternal Damnation' and the want/need to 'save' everybody else, they want religion to dominate politics so that everybody can have a peaceful eternity.

If one contradicts the other, what is one who truly believes their religion to do? It's either burn in hell (Or whatever the negative aspect of said religion's afterlife is) or break the law...

Though, i don't think the two should be intertwined, considering the massive variety of religions... It would start a war if we were to place one religion as stone-written rule and toss the rest aside...

Answer 10

The term is actually "separation of church and state," and the whole concept was to prevent government from endorsing a particular "official" church, like the Church of England . It was intended to prevent government from impinging on the freedom of the individual to choose a church. The people who are constantly trying to construe "separation of church and state" as a directive to remove anything that might be considered "religious" from public properties are wack-jobs who are incapable of appreciating that this particular separation allows them the freedom to attend, or not attend, any church at all. Because American laws were based on Judeo-Christian ethics, it is natural that quotations of Jewish and Christian scriptures will appear in public, law-related buildings. Unfortunately, there will always be some ignoramus whose ignorance of history will allow him/her to cry foul upon seeing these quotations, inevitably pointing to their misconstrued "understanding" of separation of church and state.