It's Time for the Separation of Church and State

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It's Time for the Separation of Church and State

“In God We Trust” on the dollar bill, The Ten Commandments at a state court house. These are things over the past year that you might have heard in the news causing some controversy. As current events go on, the Separation of Church and State is being brought into light more and more every day. When the United States Constitution was founded in the 18th century, many liberties were given to its citizens. One of those rights was the freedom of religious persecution, and the right to practice whatever you believe in. As the months turned into years, and the years turned into centuries, we have been brought to present times. The controversy seems to be piling up these days, but to understand the controversy today we must understand the history and the concept of the Separation of Church and State.

No matter what the argument is about a separation, it has to be admitted that the United Sates’ laws were based on Christian morals. It can be debated however that many Christian morals are based themselves on common sense, as in to not kill anybody or steal. As many people in the nation were Christians at the time, mostly everything that was written down as pertains to the government had to do with religion in some way or another. This seems to be where the whole concept of a Separation started off on the wrong foot. In this examination of the “Separation of Church and Sate” and its success and flaws I will look at the History of the 1st Amendment right, not to mention some of the controversy surrounding the issue, and what could be done in order to restore balance so that people of all walks of life can be happy again.

"Thomas Jefferson once called America’s new constitutional protections of religious freedom a “bold” and “novel experiment.” (p. 1 Witte, Religious Lib...) The separation of church and state has been present in the constitution ever since it was written. The first amendment relates to a citizens freedom, given to practice, orally and spiritually, the beliefs you support. The 1st amendment states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” (p.15 Barton, America: To…). When the constitution was formed society in general belonged to Christians. John Quincy Adams, in a speech on July 4,1837 asked a large mass of ...

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...re life to their beliefs, but the majority of Americans treat religion as if it were a hobby, and not a way of life.

That said it seems as though an argument over religion in the state seems trivial. Why would anyone need to worry about the two mixing if religion isn’t as important as it used to be? Well it seems although the facts are solid the majority of people who are religious, devoted or seasonal, feel as though there should be a religious accent to the laws and system of government. This totally ignores the “Separation of Church and State” system. A society that is supposed to be free will never be completely free when one groups opinion is enforced upon it. This law can also not be selective. In a society that is free of religious opinion, there can be no laws restricting Homosexuals from being married, or better yet a Mormon having more then one wife. No matter what opinion someone holds on any issue, the government should not be able to step in on someone’s life because of religion, unless it causes harm to others physically. The Separation of Church and State is a key factor in the freedoms of the United States people, and should be assured at all costs.

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