Seperation of church and state- do you agree with this?

Question

If the government wants seperation of church and state-

Since we can't pray to God, can't Trust in God and cannot post His Commandments in Government buildings, I don't belie ve the Government and its employees should participate in the Easter and Christmas celebrations which honor the God that our government is eliminating from many facets of American life.
I'd like my mail delivered on Christmas, Good Friday, Thanksgiving & Easter. After all, it's just another day.
I'd like the US Supreme Court to be in session on Christmas, Good Friday, Thanksgiving & Easter as well as Sundays. After all, it's just another day.
I'd like the Senate and the House of Representatives to not have to worry about getting home for the "Christmas Break." After all it's just another day.

Do you agree or disagree and why?

Some of you are missing the point of my question. The point is this: If the government doesn't want religion in anything to do with them etc etc... then why do they observe christian holidays? If they want seperation of church and state- then why are all government offices closed on holidays and Sundays?

well if they are going to give time off for one religious holiday shouldn't they be giving time off for ALL of them? I mean- you don't get Passover off- the post office isn't closed for Kwaanza..

well apparently some of you cannot read the commas at the beginning - i dont mean we arent allowed to pray in the US- i meant in governement buildings (ie schools)... thanks to those of you who didn't totally miss the point of what i was trying to ask and get opinions on.

Answer 1

I agree, I like the way you stated it.

Answer 2

I understand your frustration.

The only good aspect here is that we have in place a government that in a small way still respects the Christian values by continuing to allow "NATIONAL HOLIDAYS" that have a Christian background.
I think Christians should take heart in that and not get too upset over the lack of ten commandments in the buildings and school prayer.

All they are saying is that the government cannot/should not support one religion over another. The founding fathers of our constitution had been subjected to an environment where the government dictated the religion. They knew it wasn't right and they saw to it a provision preventing the government from favoring one religion was placed in the constitution from the very start.
If we allow the ten commandments to be placed in government buildings then soon other religions will have the constitutional right to demand their Buddhas and the Koran, and Confucius, etc...... Get it?

We are better off with "allowing" people to pray in school on their own rather than being forced to acknowledge ALL the religions of the world.

Students CAN pray in school. The argument is that the school and the government cannot promote Christianity over others.

I like having the freedom to pray as I wish. If a Buddhist stops beside me and prays at the same time, okay. If a muslim drops to the ground beside me and prays, okay. Just so long as they don't have the right to make me pray to THEIR GOD, I will be happy.

We have FREEDOM of religion. Be glad for that.

And the fact that we have lots of Christian Holidays should tell you that the majority of people in congress have Christian background. Rejoice, I think that is a good thing.......

Answer 3

Since when can you not pray? Hmm. I have heard lots of people complaining about this. There is nothing prohibiting you from praying. However, the government cannot lead people in prayer or even suggest that people pray. If a person wants to pray then great.

Keeping the commandments and other religious items out of government buildings is not a bad idea. Imagine if you had to stand in court and it had items of the muslim faith hung up. You would not feel like that court is representing you. The government needs to be religious neutral. I should not prohibit or encourage religion. It cannot serve the people and a religion at the same time. History has shown us that governments that are based in religion are pretty good at not serving all of the people.

As for declaring all of the religious holidays normal days and having everything go as normal. I would not mind that. However, it is nice to give people holidays. A few special days off a year is not hurting anything.

By the way, Thanksgiving is not a religious holiday.


ADDED:
You will not be arrested for praying in a government building. That is not against the law. If you are arrested for praying in a government building then contact the ACLU. Now, you cannot force people to stop what they are doing so you can pray. You cannot cause a disruption either. However, a SWAT team is not going to be called out if you take a moment and say a prayer.

Answer 4

You cannot pray?

You cannot put your trust in God?


I think you have a weird idea of what Separation of Church and State.


And somehow, I think that it would be Christians who would be more upset if the Government decided to not celebrate Holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving.

I don't think that the Government observes Good Friday and Easter in any events




ADD: First off, there is nothing that says that you cannot pray wherever you want, including schools. There is an issue with the school officials leading the prayer, but nothing that says that the students can't pray on their own

As for your comments on the Government observing Christian Holidays while neglecting others. That is precisely the point why Atheists and others are trying to chase religion out of Public Office. BECAUSE they don't give equal homage to other religions.

The Government recognizing Christmas is a holdover from the time when Christians still held sway over the Government. It is still held on to because while people may not be that religious, they will kill for their holidays.

This is the same reason why Christmas is considered a Christian holiday in the first place. The Romans wanted to integrate the Celts that they conquered and they wanted to convert them to Christianity. Rather than try to abolish their Celtic holidays, they revamped them into Christian ones (Yule became Christmas).

So, the reason that the Government still observes Christmas is because there is still a bit of a sentiment left for the holiday, and people know that Christians everywhere would revolt if the Government tried to treat Christmas like any other day.

Answer 5

We all need breaks and vacations from work . Christmas ( X-mas ) and Easter ( Bunny day) are basically considered USA secular holidays . It is a bit late to suddenly rename them . Just like Valentine's Day ( Love Day).
Good Friday is another beast . It is not a secular celebration and mail should be delivered ( It's not ?) . No one forces employers ( and BTW the USPS is a private company ) to give their employees any of these holidays days off . I do think that the government should stop enforcing religious blue laws that prevent most businesses from operating on Sundays , or limits hours that thay can be open ( e.g. music clubs ), or limits locations where they can open ( e.g. go-go bars) . Some places will actually give you a ticket for changing a flat tire on your car on Sundays ! I also think the government should stop reserving for the clergy the 6000 or so parking spots outside of churches and synagouges in NYC .
Let people pray in their home or church or pray silently where ever they want . And let's keep the religion and government seperate !

Answer 6

The government isn't observing Christian holidays, they're observing National Holidays. The government doesn't observe Easter as it's not a Federal Holiday. You can get your mail on good friday. You can't get it on Easter because Easter is on a Sunday. Thanksgiving is Federal Holiday (though NOT a Christian Holiday), and so post offices are closed. So the only one you got left is Christmas, which isn't really a Christian Holiday anymore, but a secular one.

Christmas and Easter are pagan holidays co-opted by Christians anyway. Why do YOU celibrate them?

Answer 7

While on the face of it, to someone who didn't bother to think about it very hard, for example, it may seem that separation of church and state would require government services to not close on certain religious holidays, there is a practical aspect that you are missing. The government, as is any large employer, is required to give employees off for their religious holidays. Since the majority of employees of the government and the nation as a whole are Christians, it is simply easiest to have it a national holiday, rather than have nobody come in to work. This does not say that the government is celebrating the holiday, or requiring anybody to celebrate it, simply that it is recognizing the holiday's importance to the majority of Americans.

Answer 8

There absolutely NEEDS to be a separation. There was a time when we actually INFUSED state with church and we ended up burning people at the stake. This is a very literal pyre... however, there are many ways to subjugate and "burn" people and their beliefs. I think it would be better if a whole government wasn't also supporting ONE particular belief.

Im not saying that a christian nation wouldn't be humble, kind, generous and loving (after all that is the ultimate lesson in Christ's Teachings), its just that so many people seem to overlook those particular principals and start to argue on details (which completely ruins the message altogether).

I think I may be all over the place here but it'd be much better for a person to find the truth than to have it shoved down their throats.

Answer 9

That is a good point. How can they prohibit the things that they do, and still have Christian holidays and the ONLY religious holidays that are Federally mandated? They should either stop having those as holidays or make ALL religious holy days from ALL religions as PAID holidays. I'm not Jewish, but I would have no problem having Passover, Rosh Shoshona, Yom Kippur, or Chaunakah off. I'm not Muslum but I would not object to having Ramadon off (wow a whole month of paid holiday time for the whole country). I'm not Christian but having Christmas and Easter off doesn't bother me.

Of course I wonder how many would object to having such pagan observances as Solstices and Equinoxes off but probably not so many as one might think.

I say we start a movement to have ALL religiously observed days as paid hoidays as federally mandated holidays.

Answer 10

Disagree. Because technically those aren't Christian Holidays. They're Pagan. So I suggest that if you want the Christian religion recognized in the holidays, you should at least be honest and recognize that they are, indeed Pagan instead of trying to wipe out the Pagan religion itself and only wanting the Christian religion recognized.... which is the REAL argument anyway.

By the way... it's not the Gov't that is doing those things. It's people of Non-Christian faiths letting Christians know that we will be heard. =) So, your argument really doesn't have a leg to stand on as you are trying to say that the Gov't is doing these things when they aren't. And another thing... Thanksgiving isn't a "Christian" holiday. The Native Americans were not Christian. And it was their bounty the Christians used.....

Heathen

Answer 11

I'd like 10 "holidays" a year that I can take whenever I want to celebrate something. I'd work on Xmas (it'd be really quiet in the office, I'd be able to get a lot done without the phones ringing & without being called into useless, boring meetings all day), and I'd be able to take Halloween and Nov 1 off (for sleeping in).

I sure don't need Columbus Day and Presidents Day, but I WOULD like to take the Spring Equinox and May Day...

Easter doesn't bother me, because there's no mail on Sundays, anyway. I don't have a problem with getting mail six days a week.