More handpicked essays just for you.
Public prayers should not be allowed in schools
The issue of school prayer
Political decisions influenced by religion in America
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Because there is freedom of religion in the United States, all faiths have some sort of impact on the American government. To understand how religion affects the United States government we will have to look back to the formation of America. Religion and politics have always been a hot topic in the States and always will be. It may never be as big of a deal though as it was with our Founding Fathers. Without them and the decisions they made, the America we live in today would be very different.
The Founding Fathers In the early stages of American history a majority of the population held the religious beliefs and principles of Christianity. This led to persecution of people who held other faiths because the Christians saw America as a Christian
One major thing in America where religion and government sort of clash would be our schools. In public schools it is very unconstitutional to teach about religion because of the government running these schools. Unless it is a private school which can teach about religion but they get no government funding and do everything on their own. While this means public schools cannot exactly promote religious beliefs or practices upon their students they are still able to teach about the influence religions might have had in history, philosophy and literature (Religion and The Founding of the American Republic Religion and the Federal Government Part 1,
This would violate the constitution and could possibly lead to other children feeling left out or even be bullied for not participating in the prayer. Even at a graduation ceremony for a graduating senior class you cannot say a prayer because this would exclude others with different religious beliefs from participating. One thing that a school can’t do as well is tell you that you are not allowed to pray in the school which is in direct violation of your religious rights (Mallie, “The Founding Fathers, Religion, and God,
In each of these instances those supporting government involvement in, and endorsement of religion have justified their assumptions by referencing the words and beliefs of the founding fathers, most notably Thomas Jefferson. They point out that he, like most of the other founders, was a religious man, and that his writings exposed a conviction America was essentially a Christian nation. After all, wasn’t it Jefferson who spoke of inalienable rights bestowed upon man by God in the Declaration of Independence? A more detailed examination of his beliefs, though, reveals exactly the opposite was the case, as Jefferson was actually a champion of s...
America today still maintains the separation of church and state, an idea that was founded by some of the earliest colonists.... ... middle of paper ... ... William Penn, Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania, soon after wrote the Pennsylvania Charter of Privileges and Liberties, a constitution for the colony of Pennsylvania, which enabled the people to freely practice their religion of choice without fear of government punishment. American colonies were clearly established with the intent to all live together with Christian beliefs, but with so many interpretations and versions of the same religious scripture, freedom to practice whichever adaptation feels right became most important in colonial life. And as a safe haven for those who were persecuted in their home countries, America truly flourished as a place for the religiously tolerant.
...es by merely proclaiming the value of those teachings, at other times by having those teachings influence laws. The ‘Religious Right’ is a term used in America to describe right-wing religious (for example: Protestant, Evangelical, and more recently, Christian and Catholic) political factions. While the ‘White Religious Right’ constitutes only 14% of the American population as of 2000, the year of George W. Bush’s first election to the office, this portion of American society believes that separation of church and state is not explicit in the American Constitution and that the United States was ‘founded by Christians as a Christian Nation.’ The Religious Right argues that the Establishment Clause bars the federal government from establishing or sponsoring a state church (e.g. the Church of England), but does not prevent the government from acknowledging religion.
Throughout our history there has been an ongoing argument between religion and government. Should religion play a part in the government, schools and other social compasses or should it be separated? Some believe that religion should be a part of the government while others believe that there should be a distinct separation. Some believe that religions should be able to influence the workings of the government and attempt to elect their own politicians. I believe the opposite. I believe that religion should have no influence on the way our government approves laws, elects officials or conducts their business. Throughout this essay I will give reasons and references as to why I agree with the separation of government and religion.
The men who founded the legislature of our country had seen first hand the difficulties that church and state partnerships could create in Europe. The consequences of this partnership are the main reason a secular government was created in the United States. During the colonial period, alliances between religion and government produced oppression and tyranny on our own shores. Many colonies, for example, had laws limiting public office positions to Trinitarian Protestants. While some colonies had officially established churches and taxed all citizens to support them. Dissenters faced many obstacles of persecution.
When viewing the history of the United States of America and that of its revolution, it is plain to see that the United States owes a large amount of credence to its religious aspirations. The colonies were vibrant in religious practices. Some were more fundamentalist and some were more lax in their convictions. The one thing that was common though is that there was dissention and rebellion in their roots.
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 ...
religion as the main focal point in American Foreign Policy. It was pride in the state,
Integrating Faith and politics can be difficult. Arguments can be made for whether to have complete separation of faith and politics, or to fully integrate the two. A balanced middle-ground between separation and integration can be looked at also. Examples of each can be looked at in history. Complete separation of faith and politics has consequences (both positive and negative). Government that is separated from faith can be efficient, but very inhumane and controlling. Complete integration of faith and politics is influenced by God and the Bible, but it can be just as controlling as complete separation. Multiple disagreements in the Christian doctrine would also cause more challenges in the government. Having a middle ground where only some aspects of the government are influenced by religion can pose problems in certain areas. The middle ground could allow Christians to spread the Gospel (which is the goal of the church). When these three options are compared, one may see an option stand out as an obvious choice. The middle ground between separation and integration is where the church can both stay relevant in politics and participate in the great commission.
Although there are a lot of "don'ts", student-initiated prayer is allowed in various situations and locations in the public school system. For example, it is allowed in school buses, at the flagpole, in after-hours student religious clubs, in the school hallways, in the cafeteria, and in the classroom before or after scheduled classes (Religion in School).
First off, our nation was found by Christians that embedded their beliefs into their work in founding this Christian nation. The founders added a system of checks and balances from the understanding “…if men were angels, no government would be necessary” (America is a Christian Nation). A majority of the founders were in fact, Christian. Over 80% of the founders held a belief in a denomination, or section under, the Christian Church. There are constitutional religious references such as “In God We Trust” and “…one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” and are considered constitutional because they were accepted by our founding fathers and written into the constitution. These are not even required to be respected but they come across as constitutional.
On the other hand, Secular Humanists, have several arguments focusing on why prayer in schools is a bad idea. They state that public schools exist to educate, not to proselytize. Children in public schools are a captive audience. Making prayer an official part of the school day is coercive and invasive. What 5,8 or 10-year-old could view prayers recited as part of class routine as "voluntary,"? Religion is private, and schools are public, so the only appropriate situation is that these two do not mix.
It is common knowledge that America was founded by people who were seeking to establish a democratic government, which would allow for religious freedom. Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson and others sought to create a document that would establish laws to protect religious freedom. In America, there would be no state church; citizens were to be free to be Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jewish, or any other religion. Citizens could also choose to not unite themselves with any denomination. They could even be agnostic or atheist. They could attend church services, preach in the streets, pray, own and distribute sacred writings, and live how they believed God would have them live. This would be a drastic change from the history of forced religion that was happening in most of the world, where one converted or was punished in some way: fined, imprisoned, or even killed. In short, the people of the United States of America could believe what they wished and practice their religion, without the threat of the government violating those rights.
The religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are alike in many ways but they also share many differences. Judaism and Christianity use the bible in their holy scriptures, while Islam does not. Jesus Christ is a part of all three religions as Christianity and Islam developed from Judaism. Many believe that the three religions worship, pray to, and focus on the same god. They believe this as many of the prophets are they share much in common as they share many beliefs. However, the followers of the three religions pray differently and in different places. the religions believe that their god created the world and everything in the world. The three Abrahamic religions have different histories, yet they share many similarities and difference.
For centuries, there’s always been debate of the cause of war and hatred in the world. Some blame human nature, others blame their own existence. Many people blame the government or the economy but those who generate the perspective of those around the globe are lead to blame religion due to the different issues it causes world-wide. Religion should be regulated due to its promotion of unattainable goals, war, hatred, fear, and rendering of scapegoats.