My question to all of you, is what do you really know about this statement. The idea of separation between these two powers in the world, is that one has nothing to do with the other. So that the state has no control over the church, and vise versa. It protects the United States citizens from being FORCED to believe in a specific religion, and the government from declaring a United States Church of (_____), and having control over peoples faith.
To fully understand anything about the two, you must understand what The constitution meant by "the Church" and "the State". The Church was referred to as the whole Christian faith. This meant all religions that believed in Jesus and that story, or had a different view on the intentions of God sending Jesus to earth, fell under the title "the Church. However, the term "the Church" has changed over time, and in today's society includes all religions. Back then when the Constitution was written, we ignored the Native Americans beliefs, and thought of religion as Christianity.
Our country has kept to the phrase "Church separate from the State.", and has never had an Official religion. However, if your question is if we are separate from the Church, my answer is yes. If your question is " Was the United States founded on Christian beliefs, and should those beliefs and labels be followed today?", I would answer you no. Things like the phrase "In GOD we trust", that appear on our currency, on our presidential seal, should not appear, in my opinion. I feel that in most ways, it does violate our Separation from the "Church". It refers exclusively to the Christian God. I can be verified by you copying this Link to your address bar, and going to our United States treasury web-site, and finding the origin of the phrase, "in GOD we trust"
http://www.treas.gov/education/fact-sheets/currency/in-god-we-trust.shtml
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Topic 11
ReplyDeleteok. so, when people state "in God we trust" they do not imply what God. just, God. God can cover many religions, so instead of saying "in God, Allah, Zeus, and whatever God you can think of we trust" its easier to say "in God we trust"
ReplyDeleteAhh. However this particular statementrefersto "the christian god". So yes just saying in god we trust can mean anything. This staement is a very specific statement, and if you read it's origions, you will either come to the conclusion that "In GOD we trust meansthw Christian god, or you will totally reject that and say America has changed. I disagree. America will never complety forget it's roots, and they are christian.
ReplyDeleteIf the country has Christian roots, then it is futile to argue that there should be a complete and total separation of church and state, because the state has Christian/religious ties. In addition, while we hold personal liberty as one of our highest ideals, another of our highest ideals is a single, united country, with a representative democratic government. Shouldn't that government represent the will of the majority? And if that will promotes the use of the phrase "In God we trust," shouldn't that be allowed to appear on our money? Can you actually argue that harm is done to non-Christians by the presence of that phrase on the money? Or should the personal preference of the majority be allowed to win out over the personal preference of the minority?
ReplyDeletehowever is it necessary to have it. Should we have it when it impowers and promotes one religion over another. I find that is the silent majority dont care, then why cant the minority have thier way. Yes i understand that America has religios roots, but it claims to be sepertate from The Curch, so in theory, it shouldnt matter whether or not we extirpate the phrase "IN GOD WE TRUST"
ReplyDeleteHowever, this is a small arguement in the whole scheme of things. I do think this is a focus on the Seperation of Chirch and state, its just funny that we all keep focusing on this subject. LOL