Does anyone find it sad that the US has to have laws to seperate church and state?

Question

In the UK we've never needed them, perhaps because we've learnt that religion and government don't mix well after centuries of bloodshed and strife.

It just seems sad to me that you guys don't seem to have understood this point.

Good point, Elerth.

Muslim:

Actually, last time I looked the King was a Queen. Her role in government is purely symbolic.

Answer 1

We learned from your example. We couldn't let that happen again. Don't mock us for trying not to fail as you once failed... even if we are doing a... less than adequate job of it.

Answer 2

In the UK, yall had this thing called the Church of England. Which when you look more closely to it, it was the Catholic Church only allowing divorce.
Now, on to your question. When the founders of the Constitution put the first ammendment into the Bill of Rights to keep government out of the church not the other way.
The first ammendment states that theGOVERNMENT shall make NO LAWS establishing or prohibiting the free excercise of religion. As a matter of fact, the reason that the ammendment was put in the Constitution was because they saw the mistakes made by the British people.
Today, the liberals try to use the First Ammendment to KILL GOD in this country. So because the Supreme Court Justices have overstepped their bounds of authority and are now making instead of enfocing the laws, that is what has become sad. Not that we were trying to fix the errors made by merry ole England.

Answer 3

Yes, but we have an established religion, the Church of England!
It's head the queen or king, not the archbishop,
bishops having seats in the house of Lords,
and until recently blasphemy laws only applying to the Christian faith...
Religion and Government have been so thoroughly *mixed* there is little strife. Yes, centuries of weariness over religious conflict, or at least religious labelled conflict (not quite the same thing) has worn down "establishment" religion to something ritual and formalised, but not all provisions against Catholics have yet been repealed.
(The act of Settlement of 1701 is still in force!)

I would quite like to see disestablishment.
Which makes me a disestablishmentarianist
If you differ, you are presumably that famous thing,
an antidisestablishmentarianist.

(would you believe that the spell checker didn't like that?)

Answer 4

Freedom sometimes comes at the cost of stupidity. People forget how blood was shed to get those rights that we now take for granted. Now people think they have the right to force their ideals down the throat of everyone else, and seem confused when people react or remind them of separation of church and state - like teaching creationism along with evolution in a public school biology class. It's embarassing that more than 50% of the U.S. population don't accept evolutionary theory, but that's exactly why we need laws preventing people from running the cumulative IQ of this great nation down some more.

Answer 5

Yes, it is sad. Churches don't seem to see the inherent danger of stepping into politics. In the end, it will not be the church influencing the government, but the government controlling the church.

Religions are far more protected with FEWER laws regarding religion. Laws create limits, definitions, and regulations.

Answer 6

"In the UK we've never needed them, perhaps because we've learnt that religion and government don't mix well after centuries of bloodshed and strife"

we have this as well, its just we have laws to make sure it doesnt ever turn back to religion and strife.

Answer 7

In no official US govt. document is there a "separation of church and state". The original intent of the founding fathers was to stop a national church being established by the govt. such as their former country and to allow the freedom of religion.

Answer 8

I don't find it sad. At the time these laws were made the UK didn't have these freedoms. Maybe you should thank us for enlightening your Country.

In the US we do have some over the top Christian zealots, and I am thankful the law is on my side, and protects me from their idiotic rants.

Answer 9

Ummmmm, tell that to William Tyndale.
The only reason Henry entertained the idea of a reformation was because he couldn't continue divorcing or killing his wives.

..and if memory serves me right, it was a bunch of Englishmen, that fled to the New World, in hopes of worshiping without being executed.
(that was a bit of sarcasm, being that my 13x great grandfather signed the Mayflower Compact)

Answer 10

We don't have laws to separate church and state. Rather, we have a constitutional commandment separating them. What may be confusing you and others is that there are many attempts to pass laws to overcome that separation.

Answer 11

In the U.S., holier-than-thou religious busybodies are quite threatening. It is a good thing that there is at least some relief from them with the laws that separate church and state.