Christians: What is your opinion on "separation of church and state?"?

Question

The first ammendment states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," This one small statement is interpreted to mean that there is NO interaction between government and religion. There are even some people who think christians should not even hold public office.

From a christian point of view, how do you view "separation of church and state, knowing that separtion of church and state is interpreted from the above excerpt of the 1st ammendmant and taken from a letter written to the Danbury Baptists rather than an actual statement in the constitution?

Religious existance in the U.S. is summed up by the government in 16 words.

Would you like to see a fundamentalist christian country?

Whuz up cuz :)

I disagree with you baserunner, the constitution says will not respect the establishment, does not say Will not begin a meeting with prayer.

kiaSister3luvsjeffgordon thank you for insightful response. I will consider taking a civic's class since you so thoughfully suggested it.

Answer 1

Lots to answer - I have been a Christian for 20 years, have a Master's Degree - so here goes...
Of course there has to be"Interaction" between churches and the government - they are non-profit organizations and are subject to the laws that govern them. What I think you allude to is the relationship of influence between churches (not just Christian) and the government. What the Constitutional ammendment is designed to do is to prohibit a theocracy - a government run or substantially influenced by the church. The founders were smarrt enough to know that doesn't work - you cannot force beliefs on people - even though most of them were Christians and the principles we have in government are based on Christian principles.
It also means people are free to practice religious beliefs without government interference.
The government CAN acknowledge and support the good that the church does ( disaster relief, funds for the poor, etc, and they wisely do so).
The Constitution is brilliant and holds up in a world the founders could never have envisioned.
The most important thing in my life is my belief in God and following Jesus, however I would not like to see a Christian country (state). As God does, let each decide their own beliefs without pressure or force. That is what liberty is. It is also what God gives.

Really good question!

Answer 2

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.

Have you actually read these words?

The prohibition is Congress from doing two things
1) Making a law respecting any establishment of religion
2) prohibiting the free exercise thereof
3) or abridging the freedom of speech...

This is basically saying that Congress is not to bother religion. It does NOT say that Religion can not enter into congress. Congress can NOT prohibit the free exercise of religion.

This law is put forth so that Congress would leave churches alone. This is for the protection of religion, not the separation of church and state. There is nothing in the first amendment that mentions anything about a separation of church and state. The only blockade is government trying to destroy religion.

Answer 3

There is NO separation of church and state in the United States Constitution.

Separation of Church and State actually is and what it means in reality. First, where did the statement originate? In our society the populace has been educated to believe that the Separation of Church and State is a doctrine which was carefully crafted by the founding fathers to make sure that the church and the religious community should have no say whatsoever in anything which even remotely touches the political spectrum. They believe that the phrase “separation of church and state” is a legitimate doctrine which is contained in our founding documents when in actuality it is not. One can search until the proverbial “cows come home” and they will not find that phrase or any such doctrine in our Constitution. Just for the record, the First Amendment states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion; or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” No mention is made of a “wall between church and state.” So, where did the phrase “separation of church and state” originate?

In 1802, Thomas Jefferson received a letter from the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut which was very concerned about the fact that the government might affect the free expression of their faith by formally establishing a state church. Thomas Jefferson was sympathetic with their concerns and within the body of his letter answering them, he reassured them that they would not be restricted in the free expression of their faith by employing the metaphor “wall of separation between church and state.” His actual quote is: “I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”, thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.” It should be noted that what Jefferson was writing in reference to was the fact that the Danbury Baptist Association should have no fear of the “national” government imposing a religion on a state. He saw that as a states rights issue. Jefferson’s letter had nothing to say about limiting public religious expression, but dealt with government’s interference in the public expression of faith.

Interestingly, Jefferson allowed….and even attended….church services in the U.S. Capitol, the Treasury and the War Department buildings, and the Supreme Court. In fact, he wrote his letter to the Danbury Baptists on Friday and two days later he rode his horse to the Capitol Building and attended church services in the Capitol Building with about 2,000 other people. Now, I ask you, does that sound like someone who was concerned about the government’s participation in the expression of religious faith as some would say? I think not!

So, the expression “wall of separation between church and state” was a part of a private letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association. In his letter it is nothing more than a metaphor, a figure of speech but it has now been inculcated into our society in such a way that it literally means that secular society must be sanitized from the presence of religious influence.

It might also be valuable to remember the situation our forefathers were recalling when the fear of a state church became a question for them. They had just come from England where there was a state church, The Church of England. They had to worship under the aegis of that church or else suffer the consequences and they did not want that to happen over here in the new country. Just as an example, the original pastor of Abilene Baptist Church was a man named, Loveless Savage. He had been the high sheriff for the British Crown in this part of the world. A preacher named Daniel Marshall came into the area preaching that a person should be baptized only after conversion. This was against the Church of England practice and so it was considered against the law to preach it even though the Bible affirms what Marshall was preaching. Daniel Marshall, the preacher was arrested by Loveless Savage, the sheriff for preaching against the Church of England’s teachings. A short time later Savage was converted and God called him to preach. Marshall ordained him and then formed Abilene Baptist Church with the old sheriff as the first pastor. The point being that there was persecution from a state church in those days and the people wanted to be free from that. That is why the first amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion; or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

Answer 4

The phrase separation of church and state is of itself a positive thing. However, it does not mean what the ACLU and others have attached to it, i.e., that God is to be taken out of every facet of our society. Religion should not be taught in public schools but neither should evolution be taught as a proven FACT. The state also should not place demands upon the church, they (church and state) indeed should be separate. The comment about Christians not even being able to hold office doesn't even come into play for simply being a 'Christian' is not establishing or promoting religion. I think our culture is too politically correct and when it comes to 'let's take in God we Trust' off our money in the name of separation of church and state we need to sit down and really think about the sanity of such acts.

Answer 5

i fully support the constitution-no establishment, and no law prohibiting free exercise...THAT is the law of the land...and as for the view that Christians should not hold public office, that would be unconstitutional...religious tests for officeholders is specifically prohibited...and, no, i do not want to see a fundamentalist christian country-people are free to follow their own beliefs, and i wouldn't want to live in a country where people don't have that freedom.

Answer 6

try examining the writings of the founding fathers. Then examine the form!! It states that there will be no regulations made touching directly to faith (to paraphrase). which skill the two entities are separate! for this reason the separation of church and state. Now run alongside and vote for Catherine and verify out to get some greater supporters for the bush. they're going to savor your lies and efforts!

Answer 7

Regardless of what separation of church and state means, I personally feel that the government, and voters, should separate their beliefs somewhat when voting on things. For example, gay marriage. (This is not an attack on Christians) Christians believe that we should ban gay marriage because it's a sin. But, that is not a good foundation for the government. If we let gays marry, they wouldn't be hurting anyone, so, why not? By not allowing them to get married, a right of theirs is being taken away from them. Now something like rape and murder, we all know that that's wrong because it's hurting someone else. It's not just because thou shalt not kill. So, anyway, I think that people need to think more about what they know, for sure, to be wrong, rather than just what they believe to be wrong.

Answer 8

Boy did you botch what that meant!! Most people don't understand what that means.

It means that the government will not dictate an individuals right to choose what religion they practice. THAT'S IT!!! It has nothing to do with religion in schools, governments, etc..

The constitution was written as a document designed to protect the citizens of this country from a dictatorship and prevent the goverment from taking over the personal choices its citizens make with respect to religous freedom, freedom of speech, etc..

even if they did pray in congress before starting a session, the government could not stop it.

the entire document is a contract between the government and its citizens. That's it.


In England the law was that all citizens must practice what ever religion the king chose, and our founding fathers did not want future Americans to have no say over our own personal choices when it came to religion.

Answer 9

Don't forget that it clearly states that congress shall NOT prohibit the free exercises of religion. This article only states that congress shall not establish it.

Answer 10

it means we can't have an "official" state religion like England has with the church of england. it also means that the government can't force you to worship or not worship in any way shape or form. there's nothing wrong with being religious and holding office, what's wrong is trying to shape laws according to religion, and especially what YOU BELIEVE your religion says you should do. this is why bush's faith based iniatives violate the oath he took , and why politicians break the law every time they start a meeting with a prayer and so do schools with having prayer in school.