Questions about Church & State?

Question

Do you want church interfering with your government?

Do you want government interfering with your church?

Isn’t the separation of church and state more designed to protect the church than it is to protect the government and the governed?

anon- "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

as you can see, only the first phrase prohibits the making of a religion by the state. the rest protects the people from government interference to practice.

Mark D- nice answer. And I agree, mere participation is good, even encouraging. yes government can interfere with a church when it's about other things... that's a whole other debate... but people who propse a union between church and state often forget, they're proposing the government in turn the ability to tell them what to believe and what not to believe.

wally- in what way is the seperation of church and state impeding the free expression thereof?

that will be my next question.

Holbrook- "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

that's pretty clear to me.

you're right saying 'separation of church & state' is a summary. I'll give you that. i never said i had freeedom from religion, but i do have the freedom from government religion. freedom from religion is my responsibility and my choice.

Holbrook- I guess I don't see the difference.

Answer 1

I want religion out of politics entirely

Answer 2

I don't want the government interfering in any of my personal business, whether it be religion or any of my other rights. Nor do I want my religion interfering with government, even though the government could use some lessons in ethics and morality. As for the separation of church and state, it doesn't exist. There are no legal documents that state separation of church and state, This is phrase coined in the early 1960's by the UCLA not the government or the people. The U.S. Constitution simply states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof", article 1 of the bill of rights. The first amendment is designed to protect the people, from having to worship a religion not of their choice.

Answer 3

First of all there is not such thing in the Constitution as "Separation of Church and State"...the paraphrased thing you are talking about was in a personal letter from Jefferson to a friend that some Liberal judge had read and ran with it...the Constitution gives the Freedom of Religion, not Freedom from Religion...I am the type of Historian who reads the Constitution the way it is suppose to be read, Literally, it is not a living object that can be changed or the writers were not eluding to things, they were straight forward on what they wanted to say...that is why we have amendments...the 1st Amendment was written to keep the government from forcing a religion on the people...

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. "

Where in this amendment does it say "Separation of Church and State"? They were straight forward on the other ones, why would they beat around the bush on this one...I am far from being a Bible Beater, but I just hate to see things taken out of context by people who do not know what they are talking about..

To answer your question , I do not want anyone, Church or Government messing with me in anything...

EDIT: Dude that is not separating, that is saying that, like in England at the time the document was written, that the government will not have an "Offical" religion...and you can practice whatever one you wanted to...read it LITERALLY, not the way Liberals say read it...

Answer 4

No, Separation of Church and State was designed to protect the people from a government that would be more of a Theocracy. You have to understand the context in which the Constitution was written and the recent history in Europe. The founding of the Church of England to sever ties with Catholacism. They saw the Inquisition and the power that the Vatican had over all the governmnets in Europe and were terrified of a government here, becoming beholden to a religion.

Answer 5

"Do you want church interfering with your government?"

I believe in ALLOWING anybody and everybody to PARTICIPATE in the law-making process. Of course, no "church" can be allowed to have complete control of any level of government in the U.S., but there is a difference between complete control and mere participation.

"Do you want government interfering with your church?"

Check out the Supreme Court's decision in City of Beorne v. Flores and you'll see that government CAN "interfere" with a church so long as it is for a neutral, non-religious reason.

"Isn't the separation of church and state more designed to protect the church than it is to protect the government and the governed?"

No, I can't think of any reason for seeing "more" protection one way than the other. Everything still depends on what "the separation of church and state" means. What does that expression mean? See my first answer to start getting a clue about what it means to me.

Answer 6

The people who founded this country lived during a period when state-run churches were the norm. The state would support a theological position and anyone who took another position would be putting themselves in danger.

Early America was filled with people who fled their countries because they were part of a religious minority. The idea of separation of church and state meant that the state could not impose its religious bias upon you. It allowed greater religious freedom.

Today, the separation of church and state is being used to repress religious expression.. the very thing it was intended to protect.

Answer 7

Yes and also the freedom of religion. The separation clause just means the govt cant force you to follow one religion or another and it cant establish a church/religion.

Answer 8

definite, there ought to truthfully be a branch between the church and state. This u . s . a . replaced into based as a rustic of rules; for the people, by using the people. no longer the peoples' countless, warring deities. people basically. in case you carry one faith into government, you immediately produce an irreconcilable conflict with all different religions. we are no longer a rustic below the Bible, Koran, or the rest. this is why it works and thanks to this we've lasted as long as we've.

Answer 9

I don't want the church interfering with my government. Religious Conservatives have repeatedly shown that their interference with the government will only lead to disaster, they'll shrink the government so small that it can fit in your bedroom or your uterus if you are a woman.

Answer 10

Please re-read the first amendment and it's history. What it is referring to is one religion established by the government that every citizen has to join.