Separation of Church and State

Separation of Church and State

The concept of "separation of church and state," has often been attributed to the original Founding Fathers and part of the constitution. Essentially, it means that there is a Constitutional requirement that there is no state religion, and that the social roles of the Church are often taken over by the state itself. For the United State, the concept of separating church and state is based on the political writings of John Locke and his principles of social contract, which were germane in the establishment of the philosophical and political thoughts of the framers of the Constitution. Locke's basic premise was that an ideal government lacked any authority in matters of spirituality, or in the realm of the individual's conscience. This is something that a person cannot give over to a government; therefore, this created a natural right that must be free from governmental authority (Feldman 29). Thus, the original intent was not to protect the state from religion, but to protect the individual from the state disallowing religion of any kind and buttressing the argument of individual rights to spiritual thought.

The conundrum was actually not addressed at the Constitutional Convention, and it was not until the Presidency of Thomas Jefferson that the issue really became important. In 1802, members of the Danbury Baptist's Association wrote to President Jerfferson expression their concerns about the Constitution not reaching the state level. Since the 14th Amendement had not yet been ratified, individual states were vulnerable to the whims of their local government. Jefferson replied, reassuring the Baptists that their religious freedom would remain protected -- that no possible religious majority would be able to force out their beliefs: "...I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State" (Jefferson). Jefferson's phrase has been used many times by the U.S. Supreme Court, but appears nowhere in the U.S. Constitution.

In fact, the utilitarian argument that there is a separation between church (in the sense of religion/Christianity) and state (the United States) shows that there is not really any such thing. There are semblances of issues that do not allow one or the other entity to control the other, but the fact is, both Thomas Jefferson and James Madison believed that:" . . . no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish enlarge, or affect their civil capacities" (Maclear 65).

Additional examples that show that from the very beginning of American history, there has been a continual acknoledgement that Christianity is, in fact, the de facto state religion of the United States:

Issue

Argument

In Colonial America, most people who ran for office were required to be Christian.

In 1776, 11 of the 13 Colonies required that one had to be a Christian to run for any political office.

God is invoked in the Declaration of Independence

"the laws of nature and of nature's God…. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights... appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions..."

In Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Lincoln affirms that the United States is a Christian nation.

"...this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom..."

The concept of the Christian God is part of each of the 50 States

The State Constitutions of all 50 States mention God

Official motto on coinage

"In God We Trust"

The Pledge of Allegiance

"one nation, under God…"

Congress

An image of Moses carrying the tablets of God's law faces the Speaker of the House. Congress begins every session with a prayer.

Presidential Oath

The entering President takes his courtroom OATH OF OFFICE with his right hand on the Holy Bible, and concludes his vow "So help me God."

(Source: Johnston)

The actual phrase often quoted in the First Amendment to the Constitution is not, in fact, contrary to the views of the United States being Christian. It states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" The two parts, known as the "establishment clause" and the "free exercise clause" respectively, form the textual basis for the Supreme Court's interpretations of the "separation of church and state" doctrine. Even in the 19th century, theologians understood that this was not out of disrespect for the Church, but out of an ability to move away from a European model of Church totalitarianism: "The American separation of church and state rests upon respect for the church; the [European anticlerical] separation, on indifference and hatred of the church, and of religion itself…. The constitution did not create a nation, nor its religion and institutions. It found them already existing, and was framed for the purpose of protecting them under a republican form of government, in a rule of the people, by the people, and for the people." (Paschal 255-56).