The separation of church and state

The connection between religion and politics continues to be an important subject in political philosophy despite the agreement on the right to freedom of conscience and on the need for some degree of separation between the church and the state. The importance of this topic is because religions most of the times make strong claims of peoples adherence, and universal denominations make these claims on the entire nation instead of just one particular community. Example of such a religion is Islam which maintains that all people must obey Allah. It is possible that sometimes religious comments can come into conflict with political demands. There are also times when religious people support politics. The subject of establishment has lost its value in the present world, however, in the past it was the central political thought during the days of Constance. In the rise of the protestant reformation, European society struggled to identify how the church and the state should relate and how they can influence one another. As a result of this, topic of establishment gained popularity in the modern times.

The separation of church and state is a legal and political principle which was derived from the first amendment to the United States constitution. It states that congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The modern principles of separation of church and state are linked to the English philosopher John Locke.  Contributions to the first amendments were made by Thomas Jefferson who talked about establishment clause and free exercise clause. These clauses have since been incorporated in numerous opinions handed down by the United States Supreme Court however, the court has not completely embraced the principle.
Separation of church and state is a famous metaphor that is well known. It simply means church staying out of the government or state dealings and the state staying out of church business. Because of its frequent usage, some individuals assume that it is in the constitution.  The common phrase wall of separation between the church and the state was created by Thomas Jefferson and first appeared in his letter to the Danbury Baptist on January 1, 1802. Through this letter, he wanted to assure the church of Danbury and Connecticut that the state was not going to meddle in their affairs and that the wall was created to protect them. The phrase was mainly used to bar the government from getting into church affairs and not the reverse.

The two major clauses, the free exercise clause and establishment clause limits the government on the kind of laws they pass or even interfering with the religion. Religions on the other hand do not have restrictions except that a religious denomination cannot pose as the state religion. Currently, the phrase is used to limit churches from getting into state businesses. The initial meaning has lost its importance and can never be found even in the media, public discussions, the judiciary, and never forms agenda of the ACLU or even the judiciary.

The logic behind the principle of separation of church and state is the obvious diversity inbuilt in pluralistic society which also includes different Christian denominations, representation of all the faith on earth in addition to those who lack belief. The only practical way to ensure that no partiality is demonstrated through legislation to any one belief is through creation of a level playing ground for all the beliefs to compete fairly.

This method has been criticized that it does establish atheism as something with religious value. On the contrary, atheism is not considered as a religion, it means absence of religion and holds a secular position. The default position which the government has assumed is the neutral position which ensures that it does not favor any religious view. For a government to ensure democracy, it should not show interest in the religion of its citizens. In this manner, each religion rises or falls on its own without the support of the government. The achievement and wholesomeness of the church should be dependent on its faith, but not connection to the government. No governmental support should be accorded to any religion since it can corrupt the church.

Secular people are not interested in any religion therefore they assume the default position of the government which ensures democracy. Religious freedom and the freedom of individuals conscience are important to democracy. Atheism is not involved in insertion of anything in the legislative action which is related to belief.  It is not concerned with belief completely. The government which is supposed to address the needs of all his subjects can only do so by addressing factors that affect everybody regardless of their belief or religion. The fact that no religion or belief can regard itself as the superior one, the government cannot make into law the belief of one religion over the others because they are matters of faith. If this is done, religious dictatorship is likely to arise. Even having the most believers does not mean that the belief is true.

Thomas Jefferson stated that religion is a matter which lies exclusively between man and God and only owes account to his faith or religion and the statute powers of government only touches on the action but not views.  The constitution makers also stated that the greatest achievement ever made in the cause of human development is the complete and final separation of church from the state. They further stated that relationship between man and his God is private affair in which nobody should interfere with. 

The common term establishment can refer to several possible arrangements for religion in political life. It can mean that a religious body may be considered as a state church due to the fact that it has an exclusive right to practice its faith in that state. A church may be getting its funds through taxes and is liable to instructions from the government, a good example is the monarch which is still considered as the head of church in England, and the prime minister has the responsibility of appointing the church leaders. Some ecclesiastical officials have positions in political institutions due to their positions in the church. Church may be granted some prestigious responsibilities in some public and political ceremonies like opening of parliaments.

This phrase together with other factors functions to eradicate anything related to Christian theism, and the religion of our culture in the public arena. Other factors which facilitate the abolition of Christian norms into the public arena is the change of the actual words as they appear in the constitution to bar churches from meddling in state affairs. The last factor is the full misunderstanding of the establishment clause which is also applied to censor all types of Christian theism in the state functions.

The words of establishment clause are not only misinterpreted by the phrase, but its true meaning is also misunderstood. It states that the congress will make no law respecting an establishment of religion. Before placing these words in context and true meaning of the words can be recognized, there is need to evaluate the meaning of the term religion and what it meant at the time when the constitution was being framed. There is also need to evaluate the past European historical backgrounds of the founders of our country and to point out what explicitly drive them to include the establishment clause in the constitution.

The phrase overshadows the difference between doctrinal religion and denominational religion. It classifies doctrinal religion together with denominational religion together, with the later having a possibility of working together with the government. Doctrinal religion originated in America and it has documentary proof which is quite substantial.   Supreme Court considered this proof and in 1892, came up with trinity decision. The trinity decision declared that America is a Christian nation therefore and its highest glory of revolution was that the principles of civil government were connected to principles of Christianity via a strong bond. Majority of the founders of the nation were from Christian background. These provide clear evidence that the constitutionists were afraid of Christian theism and that is why they included establishment clause.

Christian theism was considered as a default state doctrinal religion and was not dreaded at all. It was considered very significant to the success of the state. The constitution framers on the other hand feared state denominational religion. There are other additional evidence which show that Christian theism was regarded as the national doctrinal religion are, the speaker of the house in the US Capitol uses the words in God We Trust the supreme court building of 1930s had carvings of Moses and the ten commandments, celebration of charismas to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, prayers are said during the swearing in of each president, and oaths in court rooms have involved God from the start among many others.

Current philosophical theories which support establishment of church are few, but the most famous defense was put forward by T. S. Elliot. He believed that democratic societies who rejected the influence of the established church in their state were disconnecting themselves from some sort of ethical wisdom that can only be realized by participating in traditions. He further stated that such a state would be reduced to oppression and or social and cultural division.

Even today, there are groups of conservatism that support establishment of church pointing out that there are numerous ways in which the political system and the society will benefit. They argue that a healthy political system requires adequate amount of pre or extra political social unity. Of much importance is social unity which will ensure that citizens view themselves as one community and have a common structure up on which they can make logical collective political decisions. The unity among the citizens is relying on a considerable amount of cultural uniformity, especially in terms of adherences to particular values. In order to ensure uniformity, there is need to enact one form of establishment mentioned earlier on, not forgetting reference to a particular religion during political ceremonies.

Apart from political benefits which come from establishment, there is also ethical benefit which can be realized by the citizens as private individuals. One of the main responsibilities of politics is to ensure that citizens have access to resources which are essential for living comfortable and leading a quality life. Example of such a resource is a sense of belonging to a common culture that is based in a tradition, instead of a sense of rootlessnes and social divisions. To achieve this sense of unity, the state must in some way privilege a religious institution or even a creed.

Religion has assumed a critical role in todays public thinking about controversial policy issues and political matters. A large number of Americans regard Islam as a religion which encourages violence, while a small number say that Islam has the same features as their religion. The public is divided over the issue of churches getting involved in politics. A good number of the population has declared that they are comfortable with the expression of faith by political leaders.

There are countries where religion plays a significant role in the day to day life and has a great influence over the population, such a country is India. Religion is regarded as part and parcel of every persons life. Religion also has an important role in politics. A political party must identify itself with some religion so as to be sure of support from that religion. The main religions in India are Hinduism and Islam and each religion is identified by a particular party. These two religions have serious hatred between them.

In America, as the presidential elections approaches, religious cracks are always seen over controversial issues like homosexuality. Majority of the population normally base their positions on such matters in relation to their religious beliefs.  Higher percentage has showed opposition to issues like legitimizing gay and lesbian marriages. This kind of stance by religious leaders shape the way the country is ruled. Religious beliefs have also been noted to influence voting trends in America and the world at large.

Conclusion
The principle of separation of church from state has been in existent since 1802. It has continued to exist even in the modern democracies despite the attempt of some beliefs to be given state recognition. According to the first amendment of the American constitution, the congress is not supposed to make any law trying to favor one religion or prohibiting its functions. This statement is in accordance with the freedom of worship and conscience.

According to the term democracy, the governments are supposed to rule as per the views of the people. The reason for the adoption the phrase separation of church from the state is because there are many beliefs and practices which exist and for the government to ensure that no group is favored, it must assume a neutral stance. As much as the government is trying to move away from the religion issues, once in a while it privileges some religious institutions in public and political celebrations like inaugurations and opening of parliaments. The fact that the government resorts to religion at time is a clear indicator that it depends on religion for smooth running. In the political arena, religion still holds some influence when it comes to controversial issues like gay and homosexual marriages. 

0 comments:

Post a Comment