Constitutional Law: Separation of Church and State

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides, in pertinent part, that "Congress will create no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Oftentimes, people talk about "separation of church and state;" this phrase is Certainly Not in the First Amendment! The phrase "separation of church and also state" is a phrase that came from Thomas Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptists Association in 1802, wherein Jefferson wrote regarding a "wall of separation between church and also state." Interestingly, the use of that term by Jefferson ended up being greatly different than the usage of the term today. Jefferson viewed the separation as a protect, preventing government from taking any action offending or interfering with religion. Today, interestingly enough, the the term "separation of church and state" has been utilized as a sword, and also only emerges from antiquity when the uneducated seek to ignore the well-established law from the United States Supreme Court and attempt to force their religion into government.

United States Supreme Court opinions, over the past 200 many years, have addressed separation of church and state in a number of cases, and have always ruled in a way keeping the two entities separate:

First Amendement applies to state and local governments Religious instruction in public schools is unconstitutional Any prayer in public schools is unconstitutional Reading Bible verses over the intercom is unconstitutional Posting of The Ten Commandments in government buildings is unconstitutional Teaching of "creation science" is unconstitutional Displaying nativity scene inside government building is unconstitutional Prayer at graduation ceremony is unconstitutional

Really, the U. S. Supreme Court got it right! Whilst a couple fundamentalists feel that these Supreme Court decisions are a bad thing; they tend to be so, so wrong! The basic supposition of the proponents for prayer in school is that the prayers will be Christian as well as the verses comes from the Bible. Given the diverse society and the religious range in government and also the public school program, the basic supposition is flawed. Government as well as public school systems employ non-Christians like Muslim, Hindu, Taoist, Buddhists, etc. Just how awkward would certainly it be for a Hindu physics instructor to lead a Christian Bible study in first period to a religiously diverse class? Who would need a non-Christian to teach Christian beliefs? Religion is more individual, topic to interpretation, and also maybe best taught by parents in a home or church setting as opposed to big, impersonal classrooms.

Separation of church and state is a fundamental pillar of an American society, and it really cuts both ways: government cannot interfere with religion, and also religion cannot interfere with government! Religion ended up being intended to be between man as well as his God, NOT man and his government; all Americans should come together and also collectively agree to keep the separation of church and also state set forth throughout American jurisprudence.

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