Religion and Government were once intertwined. How has the complete separation damaged or helped America?

Question

It seems to me that we were once a more respectful nation with everything closed on Sundays and the tolerance for each other and our different religions was more visible in every day life.

Kids were more repectful, crime was not as common and there seemed to be more tranquility and peace in our every day lives.

Now we have everything open Sundays. Church seems to be something families avoid and I think that the separation of Church and State to the degree we have done has caused us to loose our Moral Compass.

Do you agree or disagree and what can be done to get our Country back on track?

Answer 1

I agree with you that the US has reached a state of moral bankruptcy. I also agree with you that religion is an effective method of imbuing society with proper ethical standards.
The implementations of religion into daily life has little to do with its relationship with the state and most to do with the fervor of its shepherds and flock. Pegging all of society to one religious system will not allow its members to compete for the support of the population, the fervor of the faithful should accommodate to the needs of the potential believers it seeks to enlist. Besides, the price of giving such hegemonic power to any one religious group will marginalize the rest and therefore initiate conflicts which will certainly stray many people away from moral behavior. It is not as if the moral principles of other religions were somehow discordant with any canon. The ethical message of all faiths is nearly identical, ignoring the residual anachronisms that seem to trigger most sectarianism.
Religious people need to organize into grassroots organizations in the manner of early Christians. To do this, they must appeal to the needy, as their prophets did. Jesus Christ spoke of God's preference for the poor, I believe it is part of the Talmudic tradition to give shelter to those in need and Islam makes charity a pillar of its faith.
The bankruptcy of America has something to do with the sin of war. Jesus Christ said blessed are the peace makers, Buddha forbids bringing harm into any living being. I have a ring with a Sanskrit mantra written on it: "Peace, Love and Compassion to all living things". Religion can be a key approach to eradicating the sin of war and regain America's place atop the hill.
Whether things are open or not on a particular day will say much more about which particular group is dominant in a place than about their commitment to religious values. Teach your children well, and teach other people's children and give them food and then they will believe in you and whatever you believe. Like a free market of consciences, compete for the admiration of people in the model of the early saints... Saint Francis comes to mind. Wasn't he into helping people?
I guess the point is, don't player hate. Go out and spread whatever word you happen to follow and listen to the words of other who follow whatever may be more reasonable to any of the 6B crowding the Earth. Ethical behavior is not killing and not stealing, not preventing people from enjoying themselves or praying at whatever hours and at whatever times they may please.
Well, I guess that's just my opinion. Still, how do you think Jesus Christ would feel about a country that goes to war every couple of years to steal oil and just to prove it can? I think that kind of pride is what the son of God opposed.... isn't it? The same goes for Judaism, whatever the Israelis may do. Islam has been portrayed as being violent, I don't believe so. I mean the math just doesn't add up. Poverty and war make terrorism by making the ground ripe for false prophets but also because violence breeds violence.

America needs to become a peaceful nation and quit its poisonous addiction to buying happiness and abandoning itself to television.

Peace.

Answer 2

Religion and government were never intertwined. Our Constitution guarantees the separation. The old "blue laws" of closing on Sunday were enacted by each town to effect that town only. Over the years, most of those laws have been overturned as the towns grew and people wanted the laws changed.

Going to church or not going has nothing to do with morality or a moral compass. Children are not more respectful if stores are closed on Sunday..nor are they more or less respectful if they attend a church.

Morality, good behavior, respect, tolerance, peace - these are family values that are learned in the home. You don't have to attend church to have these virtues - you don't have to be a christian or any thing else...you can have no beliefs at all. What you need is good parenting...You need parents who take the time to help the child find his or her moral compass.

Bad Parents make and raise bad children. Church is irrelevant to parenting.

Answer 3

Nonsense. Slavery, Jim Crowe, women as second class citizens, exploitation of the poor and minorities and a permanent underclass, these are all products of the great days of yore.

Not that things today are great. Our society has become more violent, but let's not sugar-coat the past.

As far a "tolerance for our different religions" - so long as it was YOUR religion. Your very example of things being required to be closed on Sundays - if another religion doesn't hold Sunday as holy, how is that tolerant to force them to be idle on YOUR day, but have to lose out against competition if they wish to take off on THEIR day of rest?

The crime and violence can be gotten under control. Giving people opportunities and hope means that they have something to lose. Our Darwinistic, uber-competitive society where the dollar is all that matters and if you're in the gutter, tough, Jesus wants it that way or you deserve it is ironically pushed by the Evangelical conservatives.

If we followed some universal moral values, also espoused by one Jesus Christ, of charity, compassion and forgiveness instead of selfish materialism, then, yes, I think people who currently turn to crime would have an environment and opportunities to be respectful and tolerant.

That's a two-way street, though. Wishing for everyone to do things the way YOU want it isn't respectful or tolerant.

Answer 4

I think that religion and government work best when kept apart. Just look at the history of Europe over the past 1,500 years to see what happens when religion and government are not kept apart. Crusades, inquisitions, wars, genocide - those were all things that took place in many cases because one group of people decided their religion was better than their neighbor's religion.

Once we started to put some distance between the government and religion then both got better. If we allow the wall between the two to be torn down, it will surely be to the detrement of both.

Answer 5

In the U.S., religion and government were never intertwined. The "Blue Laws" you refer to, that closed certain businesses on Sundays, were disrepectful to people like me who do not mind if you chose to reserve a day for worship, but who don't want this imposed on everyone else. If you go back to Europe before the Reformation, you can find examples of religion and government being intimately connected - the results were called the "Dark Ages," because of the Church's positions against education, learning, science, progress, and everything that threatened their hegemony. Church officials were as corrupt as the monarchs with whom they shared power, and democracy had no place in their world. Be grateful for your freedom of religion and quit worrying about the other people - that's respect. Set an example for them, instead of condemning them for their ways.

Answer 6

The founders of our country were VERY religious men. They were also very intelligent men. They knew that the freedom to worship should not be state sponsored, but a choice to be made by each person. Its work out great, no Nation has been blessed by God more than the U.S.
Like it or not America is a nation of conservative Christians.
As I've always said "After the rapture, liberals will certainly be the dominant party".
As for getting our Country back on track. It starts with me and you and our families. Raise your kids with the same morals.

Answer 7

All you have to do to see what damage religion can do to a country is look at the Middle East.

People do not need religion to be moral, and I resent any suggestion that I, being non-religious, am immoral as a result. Indeed, I may be MORE MORAL than you, because I can do so on my own, without the threat of Hellfire and Brimstone.

Our country is off-track in large part due to that "Uniter" in the White House, who has done nothing but DIVIDE our country, in large part by using religion.

P.S. Have fun, down-thumbers! Don't forget to do your Church Lady "Superiority Dance" afterwards.

Answer 8

in my opinion, if people could get what they needed from the church, they would still be going there...the answer lies elsewhere...television, the internet, magazines, video games, these things bombard us and our children with harmful messages and coupled with liberal disciplining methods both at home and at school adds up to nothing but a courser, more "numbed and dumbed down" society and that is exactly what we are seeing. discipline is the key...and a return to some good old common sense. and don't kid yourself, politics and religion are still very much intertwined...

Answer 9

The separation of the church from the government have been abused and must be looked unto. For example;

1. Church does'nt pay any taxes.
2. Churches have plenty of real estate properties that are not being taxed.

Answer 10

The country is attempting to tear itself apart. One side preaches entitlement. The other self responsibility. The ones that espouse entitlements wish equal outcome for everyone & no risk. The self responsibility people promote taking a thought out risk, but aren't demanding others cover their loses.

Is Religion behind this difference, or just part of the dividing line of accountability? With Religion one is accountable to an entity higher than self. The entitle people seem to have lost faith in this outside of self, because it doesn't supply all wants without the individual working. Remember they are entitled, & one isn't allowed to judge them.

Answer 11

What it comes down to is we have become a society that doesn't want to hurt any one's feelings, yet that is constantly happening. The true meaning behind the separation of "church and state" was that people could worship with out ridicule or punishment.