If church and state are suppose to be separate.?

Question

If church and state are suppose to be separate then why is there Christian sayings on our money and in our court houses as well as in the Court room it’s self in the form of a Christian bible?

Answer 1

Like many here have noted The phrase "Separation of Church from State" that comes from a letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptists is probably the source of this whole controversy. now if you actually go and read through the bill of rights it does NOT say that religion can't be used by people in the sate, it just says that the laws passed and enforced by the state can not reduce any ones ability to believe in what ever religion they chose to believe in, or not to believe in any religion if they do so chose.

so having a poster with some biblical sayings hanging on a wall is not violating anything unless you are forced to agree with what it says regardless of what you would otherwise think of it.

also while we are on this subject I've seen that some schools version of international studies seems to spend an a large amount of time studying the intricacies of Muslim religion with out actually going into it's Scriptures. seems to be okay and no big deal, Yet in that same school some math teacher simply leaves a christian bible out on his desk in plan sight and maybe read it silently during a test is a big news story about a separation of church and state scandal. Don't tell me this stuff doesn't happen as it happened in the school I used to go to.
If we are going to separate the church then we should separate ALL the variants of church, not just the Christan ones.

I mean honestly if it was a Koran instead of a bible sitting out in the court house would there really be as big of a deal made out of it? from what I've seen no, it might still get some attention but not nearly as much, my question then is why not? it's still Church and state mixing it's just a different Church.

Answer 2

Holy crap people are mislead!

Let's go into actual history and start with this quote:

"As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion,"
- Treaty of Tripoli 1797 ratified by congress and signed by President John Adams.

The founding fathers were primarily Deists and were openly critical of christianity. They actually considered it a severe threat to liberty and the made laws specifically to keep christianity out of politics. "The serious enemies are the priests of the different religious sects to whose spells on the human mind its improvement is ominous" as Thomas Jefferson wrote.

In fact the founding fathers had a lot of opposition from the churches. The church called them infidels and urged people to vote against them when several of them (John Adams, Jefferson, etc.) were running for president.

Read any of the letters, documents, journals or anything actually written by the founding fathers and you'll see that they were all very much in favor of a secular government. Hell, you can also just read the book "The Faiths of the Founding Fathers" it explores the cultural backdrop at the time, every single document and evidence. It reveals without shadow of a doubt that the founding fathers despised christianity.

The word was added to our money and pledge of allegiance in the 50s by a catholic lobbyist group. If the founding fathers could see us today they would literally be appalled and even outraged.

Seriously, just look at history, it is exceptionally clear that the founding fathers were deists no matter how much the church is trying to re-write it.

Answer 3

For an answer, I guess you can also ask who our founding fathers were.

Although most were believers in 'God', you can argue that most were not Christian, but more likely they were Freemasons - orthodox Christians argue that Freemasons are not Christian.

The Judeo / Christian influence on our society, and on our political structure are the very reasons you have the right to ask your question without fear.

Some say the intention of the separation of church and state was to allow for free worship - no interference from the state in the affairs of the church - and to allow the government to be Representative of the people, from whatever faith.

An atheist, gnostic, agnostic, wiccan or whoever can hold office.

The influence of a belief and faith in God has always been an underlying assumption built into our political and social systems.

Answer 4

In my opinion the use of christian sayings is merely a reminder of the principles forming this nation as they were drawn from christian beliefs my a christian people. The separation of church and state is in place to insure their is no one state supported or state enforced religion as was the case when the catholic church could almost at will command heads of state with the threat of Excommunication or when Henry the Eighth was both King and head of the Anglican Church. I feel many people confuse the term Freedom of Religion with Freedom From Religion. The first allows anyone to follow any relogion they wish as long as those beliefs do not violate the law, Case in point the FLSD try to use their religious beliefs to allow the practice of Poligamy. the second statement is used to attempt to remove any religious symbol someone might object to from contact regardless as to the wishs of others effected thereby saying the wishs of the one matter more the those of the many. Cases in point a town in southern missouri was threatened by the ACLU with legal action if they did not remove a fish from their city Seal becaus it upset a single person with disregard of the wishs of the people in the town or the City council. Also the Count of Los Angeles was threatened with legal actio if it did not remove a Cross from the County Seal despite the fact there was a symbol of a prechristian religion as well.

Answer 5

The popular mis-conception about the Seperation of Church and State is that its supopsed to keep the Church out of the state affairs, buildings, and practices. The exact oppisite is true. The act was intended to keep the State fomr being able to influence or strong arm the Church. As far as having "In God we Trust" on our money, dont forget that this country was founded by a group of Christians seeking religious freedom. Seems to me only logical that they would print that on thier money.

Answer 6

I happen to be writing a research paper on this topic. Although many people believe that religion has no place in government, the truth is that government has no place in religion. The government, as well as many people, has manipulated the First Amendment to say whatever they wish it say. Listen to this: "Although States print hundreds of thousands of custom license plates purchased and ordered by individual citizens, Oregon refused to print 'PRAY,' Virginia refused to print 'GOD 4 US,' and Utah refused to print 'THANK GOD,' claiming that such customized license plates violated the 'separation of church and state.'" (Barton 16)
I would also like to address something specific about the First Amendment. It says that no religion can be instituted by the FEDERAL government. However, even Thomas Jefferson agrees that religion should "rest with the states." So, individual states have the right to choose their own - denominational - religion. Kind-of thought-provoking, isn't it? However, when certain states have tried to pass laws concerning religion, the federal government does not allow them to.
It is nost obvious that our founding fathers were supporters of the Christian religion. Various documents from the Framers of the Constitution support the idea that an oath is directly related to either a belief or, at least, a submission to God.
When observing "evidence" that is given for church and state, people often cite the same articles from the same two Framers: Jefferson and Madison. How, might I ask, can their opinions be expected to be the same as the other Framers? In one of Jefferson's not-so-frequently-cited articles, he makes it clear that his intent was for the government to interfere with religion only if it was causing harm to others. "However, the government was NEVER to interfere with TRADITIONAL religious practices outlined in 'the Books of the Law and the Gospel.'" (Barton 47)
Here's another fact: "In a high school class in Dickenson, Tennessee, students were required to write a research paper using at least four sources. Despite the fact that the students were allowed to write about reincarnation, witchcraft, and the occult, because student Brittney Settle chose to write her paper about the life of Jesus Christ, she was given a zero by her teacher." (Barton 16) Can you believe it?!
Christianity has become specifically targetted AGAINST. Often, other religions are taught about in school (Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism, for example), then Christianity is purposely set aside and ignored because of the "separation of church and state." "Often the sword of separation is used to smother, rather than promote religious liberty" (Limbaugh) The religions should at least be kept in equal status.
Another fact: Though they agree with the laws of the US, the Ten Commandments are outlawed in public places because people might "read, meditate upon, respect, or obey them" (Barton 14).
Okay... so I'm done now. I was NOT trying to write out my whole essay -- just the basics. LOL. I hope this helped.

Answer 7

And why are there references to the God of the Bible (and often Christianity) in every one of our state constitutions?

On March 27, 1854, the House and Senate Judiciary Committee said in its report, “At the time of the adoption of the Constitution and its amendments, the universal sentiment was that Christianity should be encouraged, but not any one sect [denomination].”

There is indeed a proper separation of church and state, but that has been distorted in recent years....a key part of the confusion stems from the recent move to make "establishment of religion" synonomous with "endorsement" of religion. Our founders were never opposed to the endorsement of general Christianity...in fact, they encouraged it.

Answer 8

there are a number of different things that are " supposed " to be in our country , and our world , that will never be . that is a fact of life as simple as why is the sky called the sky ? because time began way before most of us were born its a questionable theory and practice that we live under and even for . the answer to these types of questions can only be answered by the one that asks because it is more a personal insight than a general observation. now that you are aware that there is no seperation and that the truth is far from ever being told , it first must be realized , that the askers job is to remain steadfast in her itrospection in order to find out the secrets of a happy individual life instead of the secret of life in general. good luck and with every new discovery remember to pass it on !

Answer 9

The phrase "Seeration or Church from Stats" comes from a letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptists, ensuring them that the Government would not interfere with the way that the people worship God. This has been twisted around over the years, and now the government is trying to take away that belief from us!

Answer 10

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