Essay on "Separation of Church and State"

Essay 4 pages (1715 words) Sources: 3

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Separation of Church and State

The concept of "separation of church and state," has often been attributed to the original Founding Fathers and part of the constitution. Essentially, it means that there is a Constitutional requirement that there is no state religion, and that the social roles of the Church are often taken over by the state itself. For the United State, the concept of separating church and state is based on the political writings of John Locke and his principles of social contract, which were germane in the establishment of the philosophical and political thoughts of the framers of the Constitution. Locke's basic premise was that an ideal government lacked any authority in matters of spirituality, or in the realm of the individual's conscience. This is something that a person cannot give over to a government; therefore, this created a natural right that must be free from governmental authority (Feldman 29). Thus, the original intent was not to protect the state from religion, but to protect the individual from the state disallowing religion of any kind and buttressing the argument of individual rights to spiritual thought.

The conundrum was actually not addressed at the Constitutional Convention, and it was not until the Presidency of Thomas Jefferson that the issue really became important. In 1802, members of the Danbury Baptist's Association wrote to President Jerfferson expression their concerns about the Constitution not reaching the state level. Since the 14th Amendement had not yet been ratified, individual states were vulnerable to the whims of their local government. Jefferson replied, reassuring the Baptists that their religious freedom would remain protected -- that no possible religious majority would be able to force out their beliefs: "...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 & State" (Jefferson). Jefferson's phrase has been used many times by the U.S. Supreme Court, but appears nowhere in the U.S. Constitution.

In fact, the utilitarian argument that there is a separation between church (in the sense of religion/Christianity) and state (the United States) shows that there is not really any such thing. There are semblances of issues that do not allow one or the other entity to control the other, but the fact is, both Thomas Jefferson and James Madison believed that:" . . . no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish enlarge, or affect their civil capacities" (Maclear 65).

Additional examples that show that from the very beginning of American history, there has been a continual acknoledgement that Christianity is, in fact, the de facto state religion of the United States:

Issue

Argument

In Colonial America, most people who ran for office were required to be Christian.

In 1776, 11 of the 13 Colonies required that one had to be a Christian to run for any political office.

God is invoked in the Declaration of Independence

"the laws of nature and of nature's God…. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights... appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions..."

In Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Lincoln affirms that the United States is a Christian nation.

"...this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom..."

The concept of the Christian God is part of each of the 50 States

The State Constitutions of all 50 States mention God

Official motto on coinage

"In God We Trust"

The Pledge of Allegiance

"one nation, under God…"

Congress

An image of Moses carrying the tablets of God's law faces the Speaker of the House. Congress begins every session with a prayer.

Presidential Oath

The entering President takes his courtroom OATH OF OFFICE with his right hand on the Holy Bible, and concludes his vow "So help me God."

(Source: Johnston)

The actual phrase often quoted in the First Amendment to the Constitution is not, in fact, contrary to the views of the United States being Christian. It states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" The two parts, known as the "establishment clause" and the "free exercise clause" respectively, form the textual basis for the Supreme Court's interpretations of the "separation of church and state" doctrine. Even in the 19th century, theologians understood that this was not out of disrespect for the Church, but out of an ability to move away from a European model of Church totalitarianism: "The American separation of church and state rests upon respect for the church; the [European anticlerical] separation, on indifference and hatred of the church, and of religion itself…. The constitution did not create a nation, nor its religion and institutions. It found them already existing, and was framed for the purpose of protecting them under a republican form of government, in a rule of the people, by the people, and for the people." (Paschal 255-56).

In the 20th century, to buttress the point, Woodrow Wilson noted that "America was born a Christian nation… to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of the Holy Scripture." Franklin Roosevelt prayed this prayer on a national radio hookup on D-Day, June 6, 1944, as America's troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, France: "Almighty God... with Thy blessing we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogance. Lead us to the saving of our country. Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen." Similarly, Gerald Ford, 38th President, quoted a 1955 speech by Dwight D. Eisenhower on December 5, 1974: "Without God there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first - the most basic - expression of Americanism. Thus the founding fathers of America saw it, and thus with God's help, it will continue to be." *President Ronald Reagan emphasized this by saying: "If we ever forget that we are 'One nation, under God', then we will be one nation gone under." Also, Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the House of Representatives, said this to House Republicans in November, 1996: "We have an obligation to reassert... that this nation comes from God, that it is, in fact, only successful when it is submissive to God's will" (Johnston).

Thus, while the U.S. Supreme Court may continue to argue about where and when religion can enter public life, the realy interpretation of the Constitution simply states that there would not be a comingling of power or authority in either civil or spritual matters. Just as the state cannot decide that a believer should believe in one way or another, but holds that certainly public areas be secular, it cannot force anyone to believe, or not to believe. Instead, it is clear that the government -- its rules, regulations, oaths, and very foundation, is not at all separate from Christianity as a whole, while remaining neutral for one particular organization or another (Hamilton).

Works Cited

Feldman, N. Divided by God. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005.

Written from a legal perspective (Feldman is a Law Professor at New York University), the book examines the balance between religion and state power over 200 years. This was the attempt for a new government, whose population was made up of many different religions, figured out a way to compromise so that both could survive. The book is not polemic, and in fact asks the nation to move beyond a battlefield where the secular and religious forces aggressively pursue their own mutually exclusive goals, and instead to seek a deeper understanding of what values we all hold in common, and to recognize the importance of engaging in constructive debate in order to find and define that commonality together.

Hamilton, M. God vs. The Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Written primarily for the lay audience, Hamilton investigates numerous contentious religious issues-from headline cases in which Catholic clergy have sought clerical immunity for alleged acts of child abuse to obscure episodes in which Sikh parents have protested against school policies preventing sons from carrying ceremonial knives. But all of the various episodes Hamilton chronicles ultimately underscore one simple thesis: Americans' right to believe whatever religious doctrines they choose deserves absolute protection; Americans' right to act on religious belief should end whenever such actions harm or endanger others.

Jefferson, T. "Jefferson's… READ MORE

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