Separation of Church and State

Separation of Church and State

Religion today is a topic that people do not like to discuss for fear of offending someone. Most people are for organized religion, nonetheless, some people are against it. The people who are against organized religion are against it for a common reason: religion getting involved with the government. Some countries are doing sufficient being controlled by religion like Vatican City and India.These countries do so well because the people of these countries follow their religion but they are also caring of other people’s religions and decisions. Other countries, however, are not doing so well like Iran, Iraq, and Syria. The reason these countries are not doing so well is because of extremist groups. These groups think that everyone should follow their religion and if the people do not, the groups will punish the people. In addition, countries controlled by religion would usually make decisions that goes along with that religion. These are the main reasons people are against religion-controlled governments.

Currently, most countries are either republican, democratic, or under a monarch. Some other countries are controlled by religion or have religious influences. “It also became perhaps the best-known of the evangelical rights "pro-morality" voices, with its strong pro-family, pro-life and pro-morality stance on the one hand, and , an equally forceful anti-abortion, anti-gay and anti- Federal government intervention on many family and educational issues -- such as the prayer-inschool question -- on the other.” (Jackson 7). This is called a theocracy and it usually makes the country work together for a common cause. He is also saying that it is easier to create social reforms because the majority of people agree with the same idea. There are some problems with a theocratic government because it might be insensitive to religious minorities. “Religious majorities in given areas are permitted to choose what types of prayers and religious ceremonies will occur at public school ceremonies and civil events. Not only is it insensitive to religious minorities, but it opens the door to sectarian warfare, especially in areas of the country where several religious denominations hold sway and none is dominant.” (Boston 3). Robert Boston is saying in his article that it is almost impossible to have a total theocratic government where everyone is happy and follows that religion.

You can see in some cases where religion and state are very evident. The United States, for example, has had religious activities and symbols going on for a while and is known for being very diverse in different ways but religion is the main way. “The Constitution mandates that government at all levels remain neutral toward religion. Violations of this principle occur when government officials entangle themselves in religious matters. This category includes disputes over religious symbols on government property, state promotion of religious holidays, efforts to declare the United States a "Christian nation" and any entanglement between church and state.” (Boston 4). It has been shown in the news recently that people are getting offended about saying “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays.” This is a problem because people are free to choose what religion they want to be apart of in The United States instead of forcing christianity on them. One problem with freedom of religion is religious broadcasts. These are on usually 24/7 and available to anyone. The main problem with this is someone might not agree with what they are talking about and get offended. “The overtly political contest of some of the Electronic Church's broadcasting raised questions of the constitutionality of religious broadcasting generally, and the legal limits to which its practitioners could go.” (Jackson 3).

Religion in schools is another problem today with many different religions people might practice. “The constitutionally erected wall of separation between church and state is the only viable foundation for maintaining religious freedom and for reserving our public school system. The patchwork of recent court decisions and State and Federal legislation concerning aid to parochial schools threatens to erode that wall.” (Hippel 1). Since there is a huge diversity of people in the schools, there will also be a diversity of religion in the school. Even though Christianity is the most popular religion, that doesn’t mean everyone should pray in school. Something else that has to do with religious minorities and majorities is government funded schools for that one religion. “Recognition of the secular function warrants the appropriation of a certain percentage