Separation of church and state

From Issuepedia

Contents 1 Overview 1.1 United States 2 Points for Discussion 3 Related Pages 4 Quotes 5 Links 5.1 Reference 5.2 Filed Links 5.3 Projects 5.4 Commentary 5.5 Discussion

[edit] Overview

"The separation of church and state is a concept and philosophy in modern thought and practice, whereby the structures of state or national government are proposed as needing to be separate from those of religious institutions. The concept has long been a topic of political debate throughout history." -- [W]

[edit] United States

This separation has become of particular interest lately in the United States, in that there has been a strong cultural movement to "include [the Christian] God" in daily life, and to "put God back" into various arenas from which religion had generally been excluded. Supporters, especially on the religious right, claim that the US is a Christian nation, often backing up this claim with revisionist history and quotes from early US historical documents taken out of context.

Some resultant issues include prayer in public schools and the wording of The Pledge of Allegiance.

[edit] Points for Discussion

• How is it bad if God is excluded? How is it bad if God is included? Does "including God" include all religions, or are some disqualified as being pagan, heathen, etc.?
• Why should an atheist feel excluded, or even threatened, when God is mentioned? (see discussion page for more)

[edit] Related Pages

• It is often claimed that the US is a Christian nation, and the separation of church and state was a later invention or at least imposed against the wishes of the US founding fathers.
• Gateways to Better Education is an organization promoting the insertion of religious education within public school classrooms in the United States

[edit] Quotes

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said (emphasis added):

The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.

(source needed)

[edit] Links

[edit] Reference

• Wikipedia: | separation of church and state | First Amendment to the United States Constitution |
• Conservapedia: as of 2008-01-09, begins with language clearly intended to push anti-Separation buttons in religious conservatives
• dKosopedia
• SourceWatch

[edit] Filed Links

• 2008-07-05 /S/D/ Obama's America blesses God Totally rips into Obama's 2008-07-01 speech on religion. Sadly, this is one of the few real reasons not to vote for Obama -- but due to our two-party system, it's the only way to defeat the guy who will win otherwise and who is a lot worse on these same issues (not to mention many others).
• 2008-07-05 /S/D/ 'Body Of Christ' Snatched From Church, Held Hostage By UCF Student “A University of Central Florida student, upset [that] religious groups hold church services on public campuses” thereby violating separation of church and state, “is holding hostage the Eucharist, an object so sacred to Catholics [that] they call it the Body of Christ. .. Cook claims he planned to consume it, but first wanted to show it to a fellow student senator he brought to Mass who was curious about the Catholic faith.” They act like this was the only one, but the wafer is mass-produced at a cost of about 1.2 cents per cracker. Thus began the 2008 sacred wafer scandal.
• 2008-07-01 /S/D/ Prepared Remarks of Senator Barack Obama “Now, I know there are some who bristle at the notion that faith has a place in the public square. But the fact is, leaders in both parties have recognized the value of a partnership between the White House and faith-based groups. President Clinton signed legislation that opened the door for faith-based groups to play a role in a number of areas, including helping people move from welfare to work. Al Gore proposed a partnership between Washington and faith-based groups to provide more support for the least of these. And President Bush came into office with a promise to "rally the armies of compassion," establishing a new Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.” Commentary: 2008-07-05 Obama's America blesses God
• 2008-03-16 /S/D/ McCain: America Established as a Christian Nation (video) “Last fall, John McCain said that he wanted a Christian to be president because he felt that the Christian faith was a better guide than other faiths. He also said that his faith was an important part of his qualification to lead, adding that the United States Constitution established America as a Christian nation.”
• 2008-01-11 /S/D/ Gateway To Confusion: Religious Right Group Jumps All Over Americans United “I know a few things about the agenda of Gateways and its allies, since I’ve been exposing it for 20 years. One of Gateway’s most appalling stunts occurred in the early ‘90s when the group issued a booklet called “Bunny Goes to School.” It featured a talking Easter Bunny who visits a public school teacher and advises her on ways to teach about Easter in the classroom. The bunny tells the teacher, for example, that there’s no problem teaching the children about Christ’s resurrection.”
• 2008-01-08 /S/D/ Huckabee's New Baptist Vision “In Huckabee's earlier day the fact that a minister left the pulpit to be a politician was a step down. It is no longer viewed that way. Huckabee sees his calling as a higher mandate than merely being a Christian minister. The modern Baptist church has evolved to such a stance. Now the Southern Baptist Convention has shifted its model of Christian activism that once centered on mission work. Rick Scarborough spoke about this at his rally I was at. He claimed that people who used to send their money to mission work now sent it to his movement. .. Huckabee is the perfect example a new Baptist vision in the nation. The modern media has failed to notice this shift.” (This article needs some heavy copy-editing.)
• 2007-07-05 /S/D/ Jefferson Bible reveals Founding Father's view of God, faith “The big question now, said Lori Anne Ferrell, a professor of early modern history and literature at Claremont Graduate University, is this: "Can you imagine the reaction if word got out that a president of the United States cut out Bible passages with scissors, glued them onto paper and said, 'I only believe these parts?' " .. "He was a product of his age," said Ferrell, whose upcoming book, The Bible and the People, includes a chapter on the Jefferson Bible. "Yet, he is the least likely person I'd want to pray with. He was more skeptical about religion than the other Founding Fathers."
• 2006-10 /S/D/ In God's Name “Articles in this series examine how American religious organizations benefit from an increasingly accommodating government.” 8 articles.
• 2006-06 /S/D/ Obama religion speech Excerpts from a June, 2006 speech in which Barack Obama says some very sensible, non-political (and probably not very popular with the religious right) things about religion; full video is here. Commentary: Pharyngula (2008-06-10)

[edit] Projects

• Americans United for Separation of Church and State

[edit] Commentary

• 2007-10-02 Critical Mass: Bishops Advise Supreme Court On The Laws Of God by Rob Boston
• 2007-09-20 A Lesson on Why Liberals Worship Separation of Church and State (see also: Rush Limbaugh)
  • 2007-09-27 Limbaugh Flunks History: Radio Ranter Spreads False Information About Church And State
• 2007-09-14 Russian Roulette: Orthodox Church Leaders Seek Influence Over Public Schools by Rob Boston: "One of the most foolish arguments the Religious Right uses against church-state separation is that the concept is communistic."
• 2006-11-12 Public school teacher tells class: "You belong in hell": an example of why separation is important
• 2005-12-?? why the mail is no longer delivered on Sunday by Susan Jacoby: some history on separation of church and state in the US
  • highlights and commentary by Arthur Silber

[edit] Discussion

• TruthMapping: Should there be a division between church and state?