Does the current administration or Congress violate/threaten the seperation of Church and State in any way ?

Question

Church-State Question Before Justices

By Joan Biskupic, USA TODAY

(Feb. 28) - The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation has sued to get rid of crosses in city parks, to end Good Friday public holidays and, most vigorously, to thwart President Bush's faith-based initiative.

Now, the group that for 30 years has sought a firm divide between church and state will be at the Supreme Court on Wednesday in a case that could affect taxpayers' ability to challenge - and government's ability to defend - a multitude of public programs that involve groups with a religious affiliation.

The White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives was set up in 2001 to help religious groups compete with secular organizations for federal grants to provide social services.

The case before the justices focuses on regional conferences that promoted the initiative. The Freedom From Religion Foundation likened the conferences to "revival meetings" and said they boosted the grant prospects for religious groups "without similar advocacy for secular community-based organizations."

The legal question is not whether those conferences violated the constitutional separation of church and state, but more fundamentally when a taxpayer may even get into court to challenge such mingling of government and religion.

It's a question that could have national significance. Numerous outside groups have joined both sides of the case. Twelve states, backing the Bush administration, are trying to block the lawsuit. On the other side are atheists and religious organizations such as the American Jewish Congress and the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.

"If the Bush administration were to prevail," says Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, "nobody would be able to challenge these programs. We feel that our litigation and educational efforts have never been more important."

Answer 1

Separation of church and state is a fallacy. It doesn't say any such thing in the constitution about separation of church and state. The wording is congress shall make no law establishing a religion.

Answer 2

The Constitution says that government should not be involved with religion though the opposite is true. I expect that the Constitution tells the government to back off with respect to religion. The Government needs to keep a total hands off policy - that means no funding of any religion, no legislation for any religion. Pretty tough clause.

I think Bush should get off the God stuff. Who is he to say that God is behind his wicked ways?

Sure the Freedom From Religion Foundation would work at an arms length from the government and I think this could could be a foot in the door here and the Constitution is very clear that this is not to be.

Answer 3

There is no such thing as the Separation of Church and State. This is a concocked argument created by atheists. Read the !st Amendment. The word separation is not used. If there was to be a separation, the founding fathers would have said so.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercies thereof............"

Answer 4

I totally agree with your first two answerers.... Separation of church & state is FALLACY, perpetrated by the ACLU (an atheist organization hiding under the banner of human rights) to give the Secular Progressive movement a leg up in trying to change the moral fiber of the nation & turn America into a Socialist Republic!! There are NO SUCH PROVISIONS that our founding fathers put into the Constitution to prevent any public display of one's chosen religion..they, in fact, encouraged it! If you don't believe me, go to the Smithsonian & see the original paperwork for yourself!

Answer 5

Paranoia much?

Oh, and this:

"The White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives was set up in 2001 to help religious groups compete with secular organizations for federal grants to provide social services."

The office was created to encourage and manage such groups, not give existing groups "an edge" over secular services.

Answer 6

The answer to your question is: no.

And I'll add that an organization which calls itself the Freedom From Religion Foundation is obviously not going to be concerned with what our Founding Fathers meant by the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. They are trying to create a new constitutional principle, not to enforce an already existing principle. Hence, they ought to be trying to create a new amendment to the Constitution, rather than purport to interpret what's already there.

Answer 7

Religion is a belief, regardless of whether it is a belief of a divine entity or a belief of a non-divine entity.

For something to exist it must consist of both of its natural opposite sides. Religion consists of believers and non-believers, like a coin that has both sides, therefore ATHEISM IS ACTUALLY A RELIGION, it is the other side and has to be treated as such.

In order to have a true separation between church and state, each type of religion must be allowed to exist in its own sphere, and implied in the other sphere.


Where a church has symbols of its religion on its lawn, those spaces without symbols represent the atheist side of that religion. To be legally correct, both sides need to be shown on that lawn..

Where atheists demand that religious symbols be removed from public spaces, they are asking that their non-religion religion be supported by having no symbols in that space. As a specific religion, atheism cannot legally take precedence and become a state-supported religion.

Answer 8

The Constitution is about separation of Church and State, not Religion and State, or God and State. If an organized group believes in God, is that a religion? If so, wouldn't an organized group that believes there is no God, be a religion, too? Amazing we want to fight to disallow ANY respectable group from helping ourselves, our friends or our neighbors, regardless of what you call it.

Answer 9

Three words: Faith-Based Initiative. And yes it is threatening the Church / State seperation. And yes it is in the Constitution that government will establish no, or show favoritism towards, any religion. But it seems these days, any country who has folks that aren't christians Bush says they are evil and wants to blow them up.

Answer 10

Separation of church and State is not a law, it's a philosophy.

You can't violate a philosophy.

The ACLU is finding this out the hard way. In almost all of their now dozens of law suits naming such plaintiffs as the Easter Bunny, Santa Clause, the Baby Jesus and the Christmas tree, they lose. In fact, the only cases that I've ever heard of them actually winning were settled out of court by pinhead cowards who allow the ACLU to intimidate them.

A good example is the case of the seal of San Diego which used to have a cross on it and now doesn't (but it still has pagan religious symbols because stupid liberals don't care about all religions, they only hate Christians).