When are some times when the lines between "church and state" were blurred?

Question

And what are some historical reasons for these?

Answer 1

The Spanish Inquisition comes to mind. The invasion of South and Central America with a sword in one hand and a cross in the other. Many of the early colonists came to America to escape the tyranny of the Church of England. Israeli government driving the Palestinians into the desert. There are no pleasant examples of which I'm aware.

As to historical reasons, tyrants can never get enough power or money. The two ways of controlling the masses (and therefore obtaining more money and power) are through government and religion. Put them together and what have you got? The Bush Regime.

Answer 2

Historically, the church and the state were blurred back when Constantine converted to Christianity. He immediately started defining the beliefs of the church and used the teachings of the church to redefine the government.

Even before Constantine, many societies lived with a combination of church and state. The Jewish community used their teachings as the base of their lives and government. The Egyptians considered their Pharaoh to be appointed by their god.

The church had great power in the state through the 1800s. Galileo was put into prison because of the church when he described the Earth as round.

The United States constitution was designed based upon the teachings of Christianity. The entire country revolves around the values of the church.

The church today uses its teachings and money to influence politicians. President Bush uses his religious beliefs in his decision making.

There is so much more to this discussion, but at least this is a starting place.

Take care,
Troy

Answer 3

Your question is wide open. "Church and State" where? In multiple places throughout history and in multiple places the Church and State (Theocracy) have been one. This is true today in Iran and Vactican City. It was true with the Taliban. There are so many examples that they are difficult to list.

If you want to find out specifically with US history, you need to see where laws, especially 'moral' laws, were enacted to address specific actions that various 'church' groups advocated. Really good examples were, and still are, 'blue' laws that forbid the sale of alcohol on Sundays. You will find these all over the Southern and Middle US states.

Answer 4

When the state engages in issues church considers relevant like capital punishment . . . or when the church engages in activities common to the state, like schools.
But as far as the state remaining free of church control, it is more of an issue when voters of a particular church vote in their people for office and then implement policies consistent with their church like in Massachusetts or Utah.

Answer 5

Assuming that you mean in the United States, points where Church and State "blurred" or currently blur include:
-The fact that Jews could not vote in the early years of our democracy.
-The tax-exemption granted to churches and clergy.
-The actual outlawing of some religions, such as those involving snake-handling.
-Limitation of who can practice a given religion, such as some recent cases involving the American Indian community.
-Recognition of what is or is not a church, such as the failure to recognize paganism as such until the eighties.
-The monitoring of Buddhist pastors during WWII (A Rev. Ogui of my acquaintance had to clear his weekly Dharma talks with the F.B.I. for fear that he would say something anti-American.\
-The outlawing of certain types of marriage, such as polygamy.
Note: Each of these things puts some sort of barrier to the practice of a given religion