Question on seperation of Church and State?Do you agree/disagree?

Question

The Constitution doesn't contain teh clause "Seperation of Church and state" However, it has been ruled that the Establishment clause infers a seperation, and the High Court often refers to teh "Federalist Papers" and other writings of the drafters of the constitution in order to determine/interpret what they meant when they wrote certain parts of it which may be somewhat ambiguous..

Answer 1

Yes I agree with seperation of church and state. I know it is not in the constitution but to be truely free in religious matters the church and state must be seoerate. Right?

Remember when Pat Robertson ran for president> I was a Christian but not his type of Christian and I was afraid of him and his views. Just think what could happen if a religious fanatic came to power and forced his views on us.
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Answer 2

The reference to a "wall of separation between church and state" comes from the writings of Thomas Jefferson. The founders very specifically debated the idea religion and government, and they determined that America was to be ruled purely by reason, not religion. They wanted each of us to be free to worship as we choose, or not, according to our own conscience. There was nothing ambiguous about their intent.

They were very proud of creating a nation based on the the Enlightenment's love of reason, and would be VERY disappointed to see religious zealots trying to turn us into a theocracy. They expected us to get smarter the longer we were free. We did for a while, but right now we're going backwards because Americans are so poorly educated that they don't understand how our government is supposed to work.

I wish I could make everyone in this country take a civics class, and then study pre-World War II history.

Answer 3

As a european I have lived in a country where the church was separating from the state. A church which is connected to the state will either rule it or be subdued bye it. Still I prefer a state which is strongly connected to church since the opposite may easily turn into anarchy and confusion, especially among the young. I prefer prayer in the schools instead of shootings.

Answer 4

Fences make good neighbors, and separation of church and state make considerable sense. Politics, almost by definition, is about compromising the views and interests of many groups. Religion usually is about not compromising when it comes to one's religious beliefs. I think a major problem exists when those who are strongly religious attempt to use the public purse and public pulpit for their own purposes.

I am not a fanatic on this, however. I see no offense when a small announcement is made on a bulletin board in the county courthouse announcing when an where XYX church services will be held. The reader actually has to seek out the information and can very quickly pass it by if they are not interested. I also see no offense in putting "In God we trust" on US money; it certainly reflects the values of our founding fathers. If a person wants to spend great time and fortune arguing against such "travesties," then I think they have their values totally out of proportion. I would prefer they focus on really big questions: poverty, crime, drug abuse.

I was a bit offended, however, when half of a military dining hall I ate at was reserved for a Christian prayer breakfast. Not because I had to eat in the other half of the dining hall, but because Christian literatue was placed under ALL the clear plastic tablecloths that morning. For me, there was no place to run and hide from those who wished to push their religion down my throat. Yes, I would probably feel just as put-upon if I lived in any small community that was very heavily of one religion and determined to turn 100% to their sect-ual beliefs (pun intended).

Answer 5

The Establishment Clause is pretty straightforward and to the point:

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

If somebody obfuscates the Establishment Clause under a lot of legalistic BS, it's probably because they're trying to force their religion into the government...

Answer 6

Agree, while the federalist papers do give insight to how the forefathers felt, they are not law and shouldn't be treated as such.


The separation of Church and State quote seems to be misinterpreted as well. State is to condone religion, but not give it special privileges.


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

I don't see how this gives religion a get out of jail free card.

Answer 7

The papers indicate something far different that what we see today. Both the constitution and the papers uphold the idea congress can neither establish a religion (and make it the religion of the land) or hinder the free exercise of religion which is what is being done today.

Answer 8

100 years ago, the High Court said slavery was legal too. They were wrong

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their CREATOR with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"

The founding fathers knew where our rights come, not from the mob, or from government, but from God.

Madison himself stated several times that the Book of Issiah is where he got the idea for seperated enumerated power, and the continental congress was led in prayer and closed in prayer.Several of the colonies constitutions even required a christian faith to be a member of government.

The fact is that the religious and secular war was being fought at our founding, and is still fought now. What has changed is that the secularists are winning now, whereas in the past the theists did.

We may not be "officially" Christian, but our culture has ALWAYS been Christian, and we don't want to see our culture destroyed.

Answer 9

Agree. The actual phrase is not there but there are enough supporting documents that make the intent clear. The fore-fathers who shaped America as a separate country from the British Empire intended for this to be a Republic not a theocracy.

Answer 10

In USA, you at least have freedom of worship as part of you constitution. In the UK, I HAVE to pay for churches, even though I am an atheist; children MUST do an act of daily worship; our Queen is also the head of the church; and the second chamber has a number of bishops as of right.

Roll on the separation of church and state