Separation Of Church And State In The United States

There has been much controversy on the relationship between Church and State in the United States. Many deem that the separation of Church and State is necessary in order to establish a well-developed and just government, however others disagree that Church and State are conjoined; it is impossible to implicate one and not the other. For example in the book Politics and Religion in the United States, Michael and Julia Colbert discuss state “although religion and politics are not the same their realms overlap. This is especially true with regard with values, {as well as] concern power over the lives of people... However, particular activist groups across the U.S., including Gay and Lesbian Marriage Alliance and the NARAL Pro- Choice America

There must be a defining line where religious beliefs and political views are deemed discordant and separated by topic, not by an entirety. In other words, there should not be a full separation of Church and State, but rather an understanding of when politics should and can be affected by religious beliefs. The separation of Church and State in America is an evolving dispute and is constantly redefining itself. We have come to the point where we are less inclined to criticize individuals that are different and more inclined to embrace each other’s eccentricities in most cases. However, religion has always been a sensitive topic in the United States. Separation of Church and State functioned as a primary concern even during Thomas Jefferson’s Presidency and remains current today. Today the headlines focus on President George W. Bush and his proposal to use faith- based organizations to provide social services to the public. Issues regarding the separation of Church and State frequently resurface. The first time this issue was made known to American citizens was when the Supreme Court removed prayer from the public school system (Engle v. Vitale 1962). Last year, the Supreme Court made another decision in regards to this same concern, but with a slight

Those words say nothing about religion informing Congress or society on policy, education, or progress. I maintain that the first amendment’s establishment clause regarding religion was to protect citizens’ free exercise of religion from state interests and not to protect state interests from religion. So while the idea of separation between Church and State is an aged argument, it is also radically inaccurate and a misinterpretation of the first amendment. In fact, the assumed existence and enactment of such a radical ideal has caused violation of the ninth amendment