Can we ever truly say that religion and government are seperate?

Question

How can it be that religion and government are truly separate when the United States government was founded upon mostly Christian beliefs and ideas by people who were very involved in Christian religions? (Nothing against Christianity... It just happens to be the religion that applies.)

"separate" ...stupid typos...

Answer 1

I would say no. You elect officials partially on their religious beliefs because you should expect them to make decisions based on these beliefs. Liberal Christians like to say things like "I won't let my religion get in the way of my job as a politician", but then what does that say about that person? That tells me either they aren't very religious at all and that they are only going through the motions for social and political reasons, or they are going to perform in office a certain way COUNTER to what they truely believe. I call that a LIAR. Those kind of people are running for office for all the wrong reasons mainly power. Either way you don't want that kind of person. If you are liberal, you should elect an atheist point blank.

Answer 2

Weeellll...Honestly, that is Exactly it.

Government BY THE PEOPLE.....

People have Religion, so it Influences their Wants and Expectations. These People are the Voters. You Can't Separate the Two TOTALLY, but one is Not Meant to.

The Idea is that Government will not Mandate a Particular Religion, nor Regulate the Practice of Religion. It's a Tightrope. If I want to be a Practicing Aztec, I should be Allowed....But that Human Sacrifice thingie? Nope!

In this Country the Voters include: Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindis, Buddhists,( etc ). Republicans, Democrats, Thieves, Child Molesters, Philanthropists, Rock Climbers, Tailgaters, Opera Buffs, Pot Smokers, Alcoholics, HIV Positives, Virgins, Students, Mechanics, and More than I have Characters to name. Many will Not Agree on Priority- The Idea is to Please to Most.

It's NOT a Perfect System-but Look around a bit....It's really Not too Bad, if you look at some Alternatives.

Get Involved, or the Other Groups will do things Their Way.

PS-Most of the Founding Fathers were Deists, and did Not Support or were Involved in Church Religion (just had the Belief)

Answer 3

They are not separate because the people who serve and the people who vote have religious beliefs one way or the other. The separation of church and state is one of the most misinterpreted statements ever related to the Constitution.

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

Now I know that many people interpret this article in many different ways, but it is obvious that it was designed to protect religion and the people. It was designed purely to stop the government from establishing a state run religion, or endorsing any religion over another and then forcing the people to follow the tenets of that religion. They saw the need for this based on the situation in Britain regarding the "Church of England". In the modern age people have taken Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptists in which he stated that we should build a wall of separation between church and state (paraphrased as I don't feel like looking up the exact quote at the moment) and have used it to indicate that government should be completely free of religious influence. Since most of the Framers were religious men, I seriously doubt that this was what they intended in the First Amendment.

Answer 4

Separation of church and state is a fallacy, and was not the intent of the founding fathers. No where in the constitution is there a clause for the Separation of Church and State. The phrase Separation of Church and state came from a 1802 letter President Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptists in Connecticut.

Jefferson felt the First Amendment protected the church from government interference -- not the opposite.

So as long as people believe in something those beliefs are going to effect how they govern. Thus by proxy government and religion will never truly be separate. Nor should they be.

Answer 5

This country was founded by people with Christian beliefs and involved in Christianity? without people fleeing Europe because of religious persecution by catholics, this country would not have formed!
This country was formed to give people the right to worship any religion they choose, and not have a government sanctioned religion.

i think we should amend the constitution, to make it very clear that religion and government are separate.
i have nothing against christianity or any religion, i do not support the aclu, but i just have problems with people trying to take their beliefs and force them upon me.
when you hear of all those stories about courthouses having the ten commandments up, and if you ever truly think about it, you will see that shouldnt happen.
What would you say about a courthouse putting up islamic beliefs?
When students are taught creationism in public schools, whos creation theory do we use? If you look at things, nearly every culture on the planet have different views of creation. Should we teach them the native american views that we were created from a pussy willow, the moari (sp?) views that we were created by germinating from the earth, theres so many different views, as soon as we pick just one to go on, you are pushing that view.

Answer 6

The US government was NOT found on religious beliefs. It was exactly the opposite. The founding fathers actually made great efforts of not allowing any religious influence in any branch of government. To fully appreciate that fact, just remember the times when the government was formed and the constitution was written. Separating church and state 2 centuries ago must have been a VERY radical and unheard of idea at the time. And what a great choice that was!

Answer 7

I don't accept the premise that this country was founded on christian "values." The writers of the constitution were indeed Christians themselves but they were the same Christians that wrote into law that Negroes were three fifths human, slaves were personal property and women were not capable of voting. If those are christian "values", count me out.

Answer 8

Not when we allow people like James Dobson and Pat Robertson fund presidential elections, no.

Not when the White House doles out millions to churches out of discretionary funds because Congress wouldn't allow it, no.

Answer 9

no, not really. government is based "philosophically" on something. that's such a grey area....easy to step over lines that are not really there.