Separation Of Religion

Separation of Church and State and Freedom of Religion The interpretation and corresponding action of the phrases “separation of church and state” and “freedom of religion” have changed over the years due to the openness of the United States to slowly manipulate the meaning of the phrases, the compromising situations found regarding this idea, and the rise of minority religious groups making their voices heard. From the foundation of the United States to current day, the government has allowed different circumstances to taint the original meaning and enforcement of the first amendment. The freedom of religion offered to each citizen has been successfully executed because each citizen can freely choose their own personal religion. However,

In addition, it was founded in efforts to ensure religious freedom for all who came to this newly found safe haven. In the nation’s pledge of allegiance, the phrase “One nation, under God” is present ("The First Amendment and Freedom of Religion"). More recently, however, the phrase has been under attack as different groups find the phrase to be discriminating against their personal beliefs. In regards to present day challenges concerning the phrase “separation of church and state”, these challenges are often met with a group of people that either has a true ignorance of what the early American documents have stated, or the challenges are met with a group of people that has misinterpreted or manipulated the original meaning ("Promote Separation of Church and

In Jefferson’s response to the Danbury Baptists, he sympathizes with them, and in efforts to ease their mind and ensure their religious liberty, he uses the phrase “separation of church and state” after he quotes the Constitution when he said, “‘...make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State” ("Amendment I Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition”). Jefferson’s goal in using this phrase was to keep the government out of the church affairs. This letter was not widely known about until 1947 when the Supreme Court referenced Jefferson’s letter to use his words to accomplish the opposite goal. The Supreme Court in Everson v. Board of Education used this phrase to support their idea that any support from government to any particular religion is unconstitutional (Separation of Church and State - U.S. Constitution & Bill of Rights”). From 1947 to present, there have been debates about the meaning of the phrase that Jefferson used in his letter to the baptist church. However in many of these debates, neither side consults the actual letter that Jefferson wrote. After the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the phrase in 1947, the country has seemed to