“Hey! You in the blue shirt. You are going to hell.” A few moments before the wrath of the malevolent lady, I was walking across campus to my class as a pleasant breeze carrying a mixture of fragrances flew past me. The sun’s warmth was soothing against the side of my cheek and areas of shades of serving as safe havens from the warmth was delightful. The Beatle’s “Got to get you into my life” drowned out other surrounding noises. Walking to my own beat and singing along in my head I was headed towards my class and I crossed the Memorial Union I was greeted by a few friends and I kept walking. A few steps later I saw a lady in her late fifties or maybe early sixties was pointing at my violently. Not sure whether she was trying to say something to me I took out my headphones and I was greeted with a “Hey! You are going to hell.!” and being unable to comprehend her unknown hatred for me, I walked towards her and ask her why she decided to select me from the crowd and her response was, “Do you believe in Jesus Christ?” Being a deists myself I said, “I’m not sure but I’m not against the idea of Christ.” With her stern, wrinkled she replied with a scorn, “So you don’t believe in Christ well guess what? You are going to hell, but for now carry on with your day. Your time will come. You are going to hell.” In the name of religion and God she went out of her way to not only crush my positive attitude towards my day but also she had the guts to curse me out in front by clueless bystanders. That verbal assault not only made me cringe in embarrassment but made me question whether the first amendment truly stood by this lady and her beliefs. The problem is not what people believe in but what they choose to do with the beliefs.
Religion is ...
... middle of paper ...
...will not only get rid of the problem but also bring about a compromise that will be fair both to the community and students. A sole voice today will echo through time till it becomes a roar.
Works Cited
Barnes, Joe. "Northwest Rankin High Sued for 'religious' Assembly - WLOX.com - The News for South Mississippi." Northwest Rankin High Sued for 'religious' Assembly - WLOX.com - The News for South Mississippi. N.p., 25 Apr. 2013. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
Flax, Bill. "The True Meaning of Separation of Church and State." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 09 July 2011. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
Godfrey, Olivia. "Why Religion Should Not Be Taught in Public Schools – Olivia Godfrey." Knightly Herald. The Knightly Herald, 23 Sept. 2013. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
"Writings." Thomas Jefferson : Note on the Texts (The Library of America). The Library of America, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
Jefferson, Thomas. "The Declaration of Independence." The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. 8th edition, Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. New York: McGraw Hill, 2003. 305-308.
“Jeffersons Influence on the United States -Program No. 35.” VOA Learning English. n.p. n.d. Web. 25 March 2014.
Mrs. Moreno and the other plaintiffs in this case believes religious education should be the responsibility of parents and religious communities, and not the public schools to which she sends her children (ACLU, 2007). Additionally, Mrs. Moreno and the other plaintiffs’ feels the use of their tax dollars to promote and endorse religion in the public school system is unconstitutional (ACLU, 2007).
A popular notion among many religious conservatives is the rejection of what is commonly referred to as the separation between church and state. They maintain the United States was founded by leaders who endorsed Christian principles as the cornerstone of American democracy, and that the First Amendment prohibition against government establishment was not intended to remove religion from public life. As a result, a number of disputes have made their way through to the courts, pitting those ready to defend the wall of separation, against those who would tear it down. Two recent cases have brought this battle to the forefront of political debate. The first involves an Alabama Supreme Court justice, who, in defiance of a Federal judge, fought the removal of a granite display of the Ten Commandments from the rotunda of the state courthouse. Also, a California man has challenged the constitutionality of the phrase “under God” in an upcoming Supreme Court case involving student recitation of the pledge of allegiance.
Flax, B. (2011, July 9). The True Meaning of Separation of Church and State. Retrieved from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/billflax/2011/07/09/the-true-meaning-of-separation-of-church-and-state/
“As a boy, Thomas Jefferson’s was shy and often tongue-tied…Preferred the company of books to that of most people.” (Wilmore, 1) These were words to describe the young Jefferson; his childhood would prove to be a key in shaping the man, who through his words would change a nation. Jefferson was born on April 13th 1743, in Shadwell Virginia. During his childhood he would spend 15 hours each day reading and writing, this would prove to make his writing skills at a high level (1). As he grew into an adult he would study law in his home of Virginia at the William and Mary College at Williamsburg (Bottorff, 15). During this time he would become a member of the Whig party and would advocate for the rights and liberties of mankind (Peterson, 1). It was in his childhood and as turned into an adult which he learned how to write and how to express his political views through words. “For Thomas Jefferson, the pen truly was mightier than the sword. From his pen flowed some of the worlds most famous and influential words.” (Wilmore, 1) Truer words could not have been spoken about Jefferson’s because it was through his words which adv...
Mueller, Arnold C. "Religion in the Public Schools." In Church and State Under God, ed. Albert G. Huegli. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2004.
6. McWhirter, Darien A. The Separation of Church and State. Exploring the Constitution Series. Copyright 1994
* Longley, Robert. "Public Schools Don't Have a Prayer." U.S. Gov Info/Resources n.d. 15 Nov. 2001 .
Peterson, Merrill D., ed. Thomas Jefferson: Writings. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1984.
Prothero, Stephen. "There Should Be Prayer and Bible Study in Public Schools." Atheism. Ed. Beth Rosenthal. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Should the Bible Be Taught in Public Schools? (Interview with Stephen Prothero)." Beliefnet.com. 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
With sounds of youthful laughter, conversations about the students’ weekends, and the shuffling of college ruled paper; students file into their classrooms and find their seats on a typical Monday morning. As the announcements travel throughout the school’s intercoms, the usual “Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance” becomes no longer usual but rather puzzling to some students. “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all.” Confusion passes through some of the student’s minds. With the reoccurrence of “God” in the backdrop of American life, the relationship between church and state has become of little to no matter for American citizens just as it has with American students. While congress makes no law respecting an establishment of religion, the term “freedom of religion” presents itself to no longer be the definition of “free”, while also having its effects on debates today. According to Burt Rieff, in Conflicting Rights and Religious Liberty, “Parents, school officials, politicians, and religious leaders entered the battle over defining the relationship between church and state, transforming constitutional issues into political, religious, and cultural debates” (Rieff). Throughout the 20th century, many have forgotten the meaning of religion and what its effects are on the people of today. With the nonconformist society in today’s culture, religion has placed itself in a category of insignificance. With the many controversies of the world, religion is at a stand still, and is proven to not be as important as it was in the past. Though the United States government is based on separation of church and state, the gover...
The Myth of the Separation of Church and State retrieved on January 7, 2005 from: http://www.noapathy.org/tracts/mythofseparation.html
The argument over the separation of church and state has been an ongoing debate without a conclusion, and has always been a topic to speak on. Many people have strong opinions for or against the separation. While some believe that prayer in school is beneficial to the development of children and of their faith, others believe that it could completely criticize their faith by not giving the student the option to explore their beliefs. In the “Resistance to Civil Government” by Henry David Thoreau, the author is passionate about allowing people to beli...
Gaylor, Annie Laurie. The Case Against School Prayer. “Keep the Church and State Forever Separate.” Madison, Wisconsin: Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc., 1995. ( www.ffrf.org/pray.html )