Should state and church be seperate, why or why not?

Answer 1

yes, seperate.
The State should have nothingto do with the Church.
Best for freedom of religion.

Answer 2

Yes 100% seperate.

Church is based on "Do what priest tells you who will obey the pope" otherwise known as a monarchy which is a horrible form of government that stifles growth, creativity, freedom and change.

State needs to be based on THIS world and the PEOPLE so that within certain civil rights areas the majority decides the course of government based on the merits of the ideas THEMSELVES...not because a book doesn't have anything clear in it about something new.

Now the 2 should never be together because in the world of religion no one has any proof of being 100% correct so it is all up to personal interpretation while at same time a Church demands its followers follow ONE strict intrepretation....combine that with government and you have the makings of an evil empire which will explode and destroy everything good and decent in the world.


USA has seperation but because there has been a war among the extreme sides of the argument. Some want all religious refs thrown out of public so no one sees religion and others want to make THEIR religion the law so that everyone has to do things their way. Both sides are wrong and both are bad for America.

Left wing needs to relax and accept that while church and state are seperate religion is a part of life and as the country belongs to ALL people then it should not be a hidden "vice" you keep in the house and never show anyone.

Ring wing needs to relax and understand that just because they believe everyone should say Jesus/allah,whatever every 3rd step doesn't make that mandatory for everyone and no matter if your religion requires a veil you MUST show your face on state indentification.

Chuch is private, State is public which is as it should be. religion should affect your vote and thinking but it should not be a DECREE to your vote+thinking for the public.



Chad & Ashley N:: You have it all wrong..sorry but you do. USA is based on Enlightened European Ideals not Christianity...which is why there is no law FORCING you to honor mother+father. USA was NEVER ever based on bible and you're little "One Nation Under God" was not ever used till the Cold War Started.
One nation under God, in God We Trust, etc were all added to seperate America from "The Godless Communists".

If people don't want to learn the truth about America then YOU move to Germany and this whole based on Christianity is just a horrible lie that the super-freaky-faithful have been spreading to HELP them FORCE State submission to Church.....which would put us right back to Colonial England status

Answer 3

Church and state should remain seperate because that is what this country was founded on: freedom of and from religion. If the Founding Fathers were happy with church and state combined, they never would have left England in the first place. Contrary to belief, none of them were Christian. In fact they were Deists and very anti-Christian.

For a taste of church and state combined in the modern world, just look at what the current Bush has done, forcing his religious beliefs on the entire country, if not the world. During his first term, he declared that Wicca was not a real religion because he did not believe in it, even though a US soldier did.

Answer 4

Seperation of Church and State was designed to protect the Church from the State

Answer 5

That of course would depend on the will and culture of the people.
In America we advocate freedom of religion and having a State religion would act in counter to that idea. Where as in the middle east which is mainly totalitarian, with holding many civil liberties, as well as the voice of the people stating that one nation under Allah is all that is needed to govern.

While not sugesting that the united states is a liberal country, the more towards liberalism and more correctly liberty you afford your people the more of a separation between church and state you will need to effectively govern.

Answer 6

Personal religious beliefs are not appropriate as rationale for public policy. They can certainly influence how one feels and even how one votes, but as an argument for one policy over another, religious belief amounts to "might makes right", and a shallow notion of democracy.

The kind of democracy that can be expected to produce public good is one in which people argue their positions based on real publicly available evidence, and then vote. There's no guarantee that they'll choose the best option, but there's good reason to believe that they generally will, and that's the best that we can expect.

If instead we have a system in which people argue their positions based on religious revelation or on faith, and then vote on that basis, there is no reason to expect good outcomes, and instead we wind up with something essentially medieval.

The connection between democracy and the enlightenment is not coincidental. Religious belief is fine as personal motivation, but it is not a valid way to influence others. Church and state must remain separate if democracy is to have any meaning.

Answer 7

In a country like America, where you have so many different types of people who worship (or not) different gods and have different philosophies about life, the ONLY way everyone is going to get a fair deal is if church and state remain completely seperate.

Answer 8

YES, because only a part of the nation is Christian and the rest should not be forced into following what the church says. A country cannot seriously claim to have freedom of religion when one religion has major influence and is largely favored over others.

Answer 9

Yes. Look at communist Russia, where the state declared that there should be NO religion, which is the same thing as the state declaring "We're Christian so everyone has to be Christian!" Anyone in Russia who followed any faith that wasn't state mandated (in this case, no faith at all) was severely persecuted. Those of us who aren't in the majority in this country don't need to have our jobs and homes taken from us - sanctioned by the government - because we refuse to convert to something we don't believe in.

Answer 10

Our founders were Europeans who knew well the problems of a government run church. Every country in Europe had one. If you spoke against the practices of the official church, you could lose everything, including your life. Our Constitution doesn't support the putting down or pushing out of religious people, it simply protects the right of people to worship as they wish, or not, without government interference. We don't want to mess that up.

Answer 11

Grateful Fred, your tax dollars do not go to churches. I do not know where you got that information. Churches are not charged taxes and are seperate from the government and do not receive tax dollars to run them.

I think that the church should not run the government, but we are supposed to be guaranteed a freedom of speech and freedom of to worship as this is in our constitutional rights. I feel we are losing those rights.