Difference between revisions of "Separation of church and state"

Latest revision as of 15:44, 4 March 2011

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]

United States

This separation has grown into a significant ongoing issue in the United States.

On one side is the "Establishment Clause" of the US Constitution's First Amendment which states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion". While somewhat ambiguously worded, this has been generally taken to mean that the government may not take any actions that deliberately favor one religion over another.

On the other side, there has been a strong, generally authoritarian 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claim that the US is a Christian nation, often backing up this claim with revisionist history and quotes from early US historical documents taken out of context.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.

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)

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

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)

Links

Reference

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

Filed Links

Projects

Americans United for Separation of Church and State

antithetical

This page is in need of updating. This section should probably have its own page for separation of school and state, which could discuss topics such as the misuse of the term "academic freedom"

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

Discussion

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

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-"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." -- {{wikipedia|separation of church and state}}
+==Overview==
-{{seedling}}
+[[Category:Concepts]]"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." -- {{wpref|separation of church and state}}
-This separation has become of particular interest lately in the {{USA}}, 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.
+===United States===
-==Reference==
+This separation has grown into a significant ongoing issue in the {{USA}}.
-* {{wikipedia|separation of church and state}}
-==Links==
+On one side is the "[[wikipedia:Establishment Clause of the First Amendment|Establishment Clause]]" of the [[US Constitution]]'s First Amendment which states that "[[US Congress|Congress]] shall make no law respecting an establishment of [[religion]]". While somewhat ambiguously worded, this has been generally taken to mean that the government may not take any actions that deliberately favor one religion over another.
-* [http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2005/12/original_intent.html why the mail is no longer delivered on Sunday] by Susan Jacoby: some history on separation of church and state in the US; [http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com/2005/12/putting-god-in-charge-if-they-could.html highlights and commentary] by Arthur Silber
+On the other side, there has been a strong, generally [[authoritarian]] 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]].
 ==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 {{talkpage}} for more)''
+==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 [[US public schools|public school]] classrooms in the {{USA}}
+==Quotes==
+{{excerpt|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.
+{{-excerpt|(source needed)}}
+==Links==
+===Reference===
+* Wikipedia: | [[wikipedia:separation of church and state|separation of church and state]] | [[wikipedia:First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment to the United States Constitution]] |
+** [[wikipedia:In God We Trust|In God We Trust]]
+* {{conservapedia}}: as of 2008-01-09, begins with language clearly intended to push anti-Separation buttons in [[religious right|religious conservatives]]
+* {{dkosopedia}}
+* {{sourcewatch}}
+===Filed Links===
+{{links/news}}
+===Projects===
+* [http://www.au.org/ Americans United for Separation of Church and State]
+====antithetical====
+{{notice/need/update|This section should probably have its own page for [[separation of school and state]], which could discuss topics such as the misuse of the term "academic freedom"}}
+* [http://apps.facebook.com/causes/4708 Keep God In Schools!]
+* [http://www.schoolandstate.org/ Alliance for the Separation of School and State]
+* [http://www.freedomofeducation.net/ Freedom of Education.net]
+===Commentary===
+* '''2007-10-02''' [http://www.talk2action.org/story/2007/10/2/11595/7881 Critical Mass: Bishops Advise Supreme Court On The Laws Of God] by Rob Boston
+* '''2007-09-20''' [http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_092007/content/01125108.guest.html A Lesson on Why Liberals Worship Separation of Church and State] (see also: [[Rush Limbaugh]])
+** '''2007-09-27''' [http://blog.au.org/2007/09/27/limbaugh-flunks-history-radio-ranter-spreads-false-information-about-church-and-state/ Limbaugh Flunks History: Radio Ranter Spreads False Information About Church And State]
+* '''2007-09-14''' [http://www.talk2action.org/story/2007/9/25/14631/2906 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''' [http://lippard.blogspot.com/2006/11/public-school-teacher-tells-class-you.html Public school teacher tells class: "You belong in hell"]: an example of why separation is important
+* '''2005-12-??''' [http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2005/12/original_intent.html why the mail is no longer delivered on Sunday] by Susan Jacoby: some history on separation of church and state in the US
+** [http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com/2005/12/putting-god-in-charge-if-they-could.html highlights and commentary] by Arthur Silber
+===Discussion===
+* TruthMapping: [http://www.truthmapping.com/viewtopic.php?id=231 Should there be a division between church and state?]