Isaac Madrid
Mrs. Stormes
English III/Period 1
21 March 2014
In God We Trust
Madison said “In God We Trust” (Allen, Brooke 2005) he never said in our government we trust. Why is it that after adopting those words to our money society wants to forget them? After all, we did believe God was the reason we came to the United States. Overall, why separate the church from the state? The government should separate the church from state, because it is safer, the bible says to, and it would be unconstitutional if we did not have this separation.
To begin, it is safer because if you join the church and the state it will all end up bad. For example, In Europe the monarchy government allowed the church to be united with its king and queen. This all wet downhill when the church made it a mandatory thing, to give money to the church, or go to jail. As well it would be safer for the church and state to be separate because it can lead to fights. For example, everyone who has pride in their religion would fight for it to be represented in their government. Last, it protects people making its safer like “today, the wall of separation between church and state is probably the best way to ensure religious freedom in the U.S., protecting both secular and religious worlds.
As well, during my research I found out the bible says “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's,"(Matthew 22:21). After reading the whole story in the bible you see that people where trying to trick Jesus. This was their way of seeing if he was against the government just so they could have an excuse to arrest him. But he was wise, he knew they would try and trick him, but he always gave them the answer they were not ex...
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...you to believe in their god. In addition, if you were unable to have your own beliefs. Finally, if the government was to force you to praise their God, their statues, their images anything they want will it still be land of the free? But can we agree that without separation of church and state this country would be at war with its self once again.
Work cited
Allen, Brooke. "Our Godless Constitution." Nation 280.7 (2005): 14. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
Columbia University, Press. "Constitution Of The United States." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (2013): 1-3. History Reference Center. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
Singer, Alan. "Separation Of Church And State Protects Both Secular And Religious Worlds." Phi Delta Kappan 81.6 (2000): 462-65. ERIC. Web. 28 Mar. 2014
Matthew chapter 22, bible app by Cifuentes, Camilo 12 Apr. 2014
When it came down to the government during the convention of May 1776, instead of protecting our rights they had passed them down causing us to be under common law. If one had denied the Christian faith and went against everything it believed in, such as, “there are more Gods than one, or denies the Christian religion to be true, or the scriptures to be of divine authority, he is punishable on the first offence by incapacity to hold any office or employment ecclesiastical, civil, or military,” (Jefferson 176). This is what most people had thought about if you did not follow their religion. Thomas Jefferson believed that the wall between church and state should be very high in order to keep out and prevent hostile situations. Using an example from today’s news, many people get uncomfortable in the United Stated with the Muslim religion because of the previous horrific events that led to many cruel deaths in our history. By this, the way that we look at these people is forever changed because of the incidents and who knows if we will ever not be hostile with one another because of it. If church and state hadn’t been separated we may have not become a true democracy from what our developing country was seeming to lead towards. More people would not be as accepting of each other, and not that they are still not today, but I feel as if it may
The general court was set on a path to separating the beliefs of the church and the government. Luckily, years later a law would be passed in the Constitution that separates church and state.
It isn't as simple as saying that the church and state were connected or they weren't. For example, Henry VIII and Calvinism both utilized a strong church state connection, but Henry VIII used the church to empower the state, while Calvinism did the opposite. Some used the church and state relationship for gain of power and control, while for others it was truly what they believed was right. Church and state relationships are complex and deep. Each one was unique and added to the individual religion in its own
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...
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...
It appears the United States government has had a history of favoring Christianity. The United States government's favoritism of Christianity is a clear violation of the Christian faith. the First Amendment. This amendment states that "Congress shall make no law. respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
The metaphor was used exclusively to keep the state out of the church's business, not to keep the church out of the state's business. The political divide in the United States is very bad. The two main political parties are the democrats and the republicans. The two parties dislike each other and each other's views. Abortion, health care, illegal immigration, the death penalty, euthanasia, the right to bear arms global warming, and the separation of church and state are all just very few reasons the United States is divided. Not all of these seem like they are political, but they have been made into be, even though they should not have, the United States is divided over
Prayer has been banished from schools and the ACLU rampages to remove “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance. Moreover, “Separation of Church and State” is nowhere found in the Constitution or any other founding legislation. Our forefathers would never countenance the restrictions on religion exacted today." -- Bill Flax, Forbes, 2011. Church and State seem to be two words that are entirely inseparable from each other.
...ating that ‘No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever…but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion ‘ (Document D). Another discussion that kept arising after the American Revolution was how much power the government should have. Having already dealt with tyranny under King George III, the colonists were apprehensive about giving the government too much power. However, in ‘The Federalist’ James Madison states that Government must have the power to control people, but that the abuses of government must be controlled. He states that ‘in framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the greatest difficulty lies in this; you must first enable the government to control the govern; and in next place oblige it to control itself.’
have in some way established that Christianity is the official religion of the United States, and for the sake of maintaining our status as a truly free nation, the words “Under God” in the Pledge
Speaking personally, this excerpt has truly started to make me think more deeply on how the church relates to government and the systems that have been in use before the political activism seen among professing Christians today. Whereas before, I would say that there should be some amount of Christian morality put forth from within government. I now see that it does not have the power to change a nation and its people. Stead points out that the framers of the Constitution had a unique perspective on church and state because they had come out of a society where the church was run by the state. The King was the chief priest as well as the chief political ruler—something prohibited by God (2 Chron. 26). Therefore, the framers were those who supported a separation of duties: to paraphrase, they said “The government is there to protect the nation. The Church can do whatever it wants, as long as it is inside the bounds of the constitutional conditions.” (49)
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).
...s both ways: Not only is the government kept out of religious matters, but religion is, likewise, kept out of government matters. There would be a true "separation of church and state." Religious freedom has always been an important part of American history. It is the concept, which originally divided us from England, and without it, this country might not exist today. Religious freedoms, along with several other freedoms -- which are just as important -- make America unique. It allows citizens to believe what they want to believe, and practice what they want to practice without any pressure from the government. Yet, religious freedom does not constitute civil disobedience. The fact still remains that Americans are privileged in that they have this opportunity called religious freedom. It is an important part of what indeed makes this country "the land of the free."
What is Christianity and why has it been able to develop into a continuously growing and evolving religion?
Religion has always been a topic that makes people uncomfortable, it has sparked wars, legal cases and arguments. This is a controversial issue that reigns havoc in many countries and because of this American citizens are afforded religious freedom through the US constitution. The goal of the United States government has never been to make our nation irreligious but to uphold the values of religious freedom.