The Ten Commandments should not be allowed to be posted in United States Government buildings. The Ten Commandments are a Judaic set of laws that according to their religious history was handed down from God to the prophet Moses. I believe these postings harm our county, its image of religious freedom, and it violates American citizen’s first amendment right. The three main reasons I believe that they should not be allowed is that it promotes a state-endorsed religion, it promotes religious intolerance and it creates an uncomfortable environment for people of other faiths.
State-endorsed Religion
The first reason I am against the postings is that it creates a state-endorsed religion. A state-endorsed religion is where a government that while it does not make one religion law it still bases a majority of its laws on secular views. If the US Government were allowed to post the Ten Commandments in all its institutions than what is to stop them from enforcing these religious laws that have been posted? Sure there are many commandments that are already law, “thou shalt not steal, though shall not commit murder.” These are laws that everyone should live by but what of “Thou shalt have no other gods before me?” This is the second commandment and as such it is very clearly a statement against other religious views. If this were allowed to be posted by government officials and if it influences our youth in schools in any way than by definition America will have created a state-endorsed religion which is in direct conflict with religious freedom.
A state-endorsed religion is a direct violation of every American citizen’s first amendment. The first amendment states that “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” (Bill of Rights). The US Government has a duty to its people to uphold its constitutional laws that founded this country. If the US Government allows government building to post the Ten Commandment it loses its neutrality on religion because it will have to choose a version of the Ten Commandments that it will display, violating right of Americans.
The promotion of a state-endorsed religion goes against everything in which what this country was founded on.
The Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. Meaning, Congress cannot forbid or ban the exercises or beliefs of any religion. However, the government can in fact interfere with religions practices. This means that the government cannot prohibit the beliefs of any religion, but can intervene in certain practices.
This is tied into the US Constitution because the first Amendment of the Bill of Rights was all about having religious freedom.This is how the first Amendments goes, “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.” The first Amendment is saying that the government can’t form a religion and it can’t prevent citizens from initiating a religion, this became known as the establishment clause. As a matter a fact this has been happening for a couple of weeks now, Donald Trump is going to try to ban Muslims if he becomes President. This is going against the US Constitution, that our founding fathers had established. All in all Voltaire had influenced the Constitution by wanting freedom of
A popular notion among many religious conservatives is the rejection of what is commonly referred to as the separation between church and state. They maintain the United States was founded by leaders who endorsed Christian principles as the cornerstone of American democracy, and that the First Amendment prohibition against government establishment was not intended to remove religion from public life. As a result, a number of disputes have made their way through to the courts, pitting those ready to defend the wall of separation, against those who would tear it down. Two recent cases have brought this battle to the forefront of political debate. The first involves an Alabama Supreme Court justice, who, in defiance of a Federal judge, fought the removal of a granite display of the Ten Commandments from the rotunda of the state courthouse. Also, a California man has challenged the constitutionality of the phrase “under God” in an upcoming Supreme Court case involving student recitation of the pledge of allegiance.
The Protestants who emigrated to America knew from experience of the negative effect the government had on religion when the two were operating together. With the mindset of creating a new perfect holy land, they decided to make sure both church and state worked separately. While Puritans still did everything they could to enforce their beliefs in New England, including exiling those who did not attend church regularly, the core idea of separation of church and state was in the minds of the people. In order to have a country that values the freedom of religion, the church has to be out of any government policy. Any laws that are created around a single church’s faith, even if the majority of the population believes in them, threaten the freedoms of all other denominations. Ame...
“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” (U.S. Constitution).
1. In the First Amendment, the clause that states “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion” is based on the Establishment Clauses that is incorporated in the amendment. This clauses prohibits the government to establish a state religion and then enforce it on its citizens to believe it. Without this clause, the government can force participation in this chosen religion, and then punish anyone who does not obey to the faith chosen. This clause was in issue in a court case mentioned in Gaustad’s reading “Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land”. March v. Chambers was a court case that involved the establishment clause. Chambers was a member of the Nebraska state legislature who began each session with prayer by a chaplain who was being paid the state. The case stated that this violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. However, the court stated that the establishment clause was not breached by the prayer, but was violated because of the fact that the chaplain was being paid from public funds.
Whatthe U.S. has done, indeed what most of us have endorsed, to traditionalreligion is well ! described by Jeffrey Haynes in his essay on religion andpolitics: Almosteverywhere, modern states have sough to reduce religions politicalinfluence, to privatize it and hence significantly reduce its political andsocial importance. But . . .states have also recognized the importance of religion for politics by seekingto create civil religionsthat is, bodies of state designatedreligious dogma. The purpose wasto engineer consensual, corporate religious forms that could claim to be guidedby general, culturally appropriate, societally specific beliefs, notnecessarily tied institutionally to any specific religious tradition. The development of civil religion wasoften part of a strategy not merely to avoid social conflicts but also to tryto promote national co-or! dination in countries with serious religious and/orideological...
Abstract Several times in our nation's history, Congress has introduced a bill that would provide for banning flag desecration. Each time, however, the Supreme Court ruled that this act was protected by the First Amendment freedom of speech rights. The debate over this topic continues, with both sides arguing for "the good of the country."
Separation of church and state is an issue in the forefront of people’s minds as some fight for their religious freedoms while others fight for their right to not be subjected to the religious beliefs of anybody else. Because public schools are government agencies they must operate under the same guidelines as any other government entity when it comes to religious expression and support, meaning they cannot endorse any specific religion nor can they encourage or require any religious practice. This issue becomes complicated when students exercise their right to free speech by expressing their religious beliefs in a school setting. An examination of First Amendment legal issues that arise when a student submits an essay and drawing of a religious
Church-state relations in America has been widely discussed and hotly debated. One school of thought holds that the church should be absolutely separated from the state, while another holds that the church plays a moral role in state building and its sanctity, without which the state risks falling apart. In my discussion of the church-state relations, I state that the history of church-state relations has a Constitutional basis. Next, I discuss the two schools of thought in context and how they have shaped contemporary American political thought. Finally, I argue that the two schools of thought have a common ground. This is followed by a summary of my key arguments and a conclusion to my essay.
Many students all across America stand and salute to the flag every morning and repeat these words, “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, To the republic for which it stands, one nation, Under God, Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” There are controversy behind these words of historical allegiance, and that is why many people are refusing to stand for the pledge. This nation was founded upon freedom and liberties, and with those liberties comes with the freedom to choose your religion. The words “Under God”
Benjamin Franklin once declared, "Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As a nation becomes more corrupt and vicious they have more need of masters." In nineteen sixty-two the Supreme Court of the United States pronounced that a prayer recited in the public school was abusing our freedoms . In the court's opinion this was an act in violation to the first amendment, which calls for "a separation of church and state.'' This ruling was later extended to include the use of the Bible as well. A Supreme Court Justice, Hugo Black, put it in this often quoted statement "Neither a state or the Federal government can set up a church. Nor can pass laws that aid one religion, all religions, or prefer one religion over another. No tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions whatever they may be called, or whatever form they may adapt to teach or practice religion." (686)
America has been built on freedom throughout the years. Freedom to speak, freedom to choose, freedom to worship, and freedom to do just about anything you want within that of the law. America’s law has been designed to protect and preserve these freedoms. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. It assures citizens that the federal government shall not restrict freedom of worship. It specifically prohibits Congress from establishing an official, government supported church. Under The First Amendment, the federal government cannot require citizens to pay taxes to support a certain church, nor can people be prohibited from worshipping in any way they see fit. However, if a certain religion recommends a practice that is contrary to public morals, such as polygamy, Congress may prohibit such a practice (Weidner, Daniel, 2002). The people of the United States also have the right to assemble peaceably under the First Amendment. The only restriction comes from the word peaceably. Assembly may not be prevented, as long as the proper authorities have reasonable assurance that the meeting will be peaceful (Weidner, Daniel, 2002).
Religious influence has always been part of the American Government since the beginning. Even in the earliest history of the creation of our Government with the Declaration of Independence God is mentioned in the first paragraph. Though religion over the past two centuries has proven to be an influence on the United States government the influence has a relatively good standing. Religious influence in State and law has been a medium in the beginning of the governmental system but still set influence. The influence though pertained to the religion and idealism of the individuals carrying it ...
This website provided a copy of the U.S. Secretary of Education’s guidelines on religious expression in public schools.