What Does "Separation of Church and State" Mean



It's always helpful to hear a different perspective on old arguments. I enjoyed reading one today, even though I didn't agree with it. This was a short essay on why some do not believe separation of church and state means keeping religion out of government and politics. 

The link restates what it claims was the meaning of separation of church and state for 3/4th of U.S. history. It was only that no one can be forced to any particular faith and no tax money given to any religion. The point the Baptist author was making was it did not include keeping religion out of the public square. It was Baptists, he argued, not secularists, who drove the argument because they were pushing back against the high church of the Queen and Anglicans. 

The American Baptist denomination is the oldest one that was born in the U.S. Today, conventional wisdom tells us it is a branch quite similar to mainline protestants like Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Lutherans, etc. I've known several churches in this denomination and they differ. Southern Baptists are a horse of a different color. 

I think it ridiculous to claim that what the founding fathers or the country thought was meant by separation of church and state is what we can use today. During the many decades of my life right wing Christianity has pushed the limits of what separation means. Liberals and secular people have pushed back. The current standoff is a result. If the religious right had respected the border there would have been no reason for secularists to protect the public space.  

To claim that if the majority at a public meeting are Christian and want a prayer at the beginning that includes a ringing endorsement of the faith and condemnation of all others does not violate the separation rule is nonsense even if was OK long ago. The old rule, worship whatever you want and don't give tax payer money to churches, allows non Christians to be insulted at a meeting they own. Just because they are a minority does not give license the religious right to take advantage.

Unfortunately, pushing back has been necessary for a century and is still necessary.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ancient God, Bel (Baal), the Main Character in an Ancient Play

Image
In a British museum is a preserved stone tablet from Babylon. It dates to about 2,000 BCE. Someone labored patiently to inscribe an entire passion play featuring the god Bel. I reiterate this is a stone tablet, not a recopied papyrus. The play begins with the god Bel arrested by soldiers and taken off the stage. He reappears at a trial in the Hall of Judgement. Bel is innocent but is sentenced to death. In the next scene Bel is accosted by a mob. He is despised and rejected. The actor playing Bel is then taken by guard to a hilltop in a sacred grove. Two criminals are taken with him. One of these is released. The the audience then leaves the theater and follows the actor Bel and his guards to the top of a hill where the death scene is enacted by hanging from a tree. The audience returns to the theater for the dramatic final scenes. The dead Bel is stripped and prepared for burial. On a theatrical hill to the side of the stage is a tomb where the body is placed. A stone is rolle...
Read more

Time to Forget the Christian Nation Thing

Image
While women are forbidden from being priests/preachers in some branches of Christianity thank goodness they are not forbidden from writing and lecturing about Christianity. A great article about the "Christian nation" notion shows us the U.S. is not a Christian nation and hopefully never will be. It is written by a woman with nerve and was published on a very Christian site, Christian Post.  Among the pilgrims were a few that wanted to establish a utopian Christian society. Some of their brethren stayed behind in Europe hoping the push aside worldly forces there and bring sinners to God. Today, whether it is the anti abortion, anti gay/trans, anti immigration or the put prayer back in schools branch there are those who want a version of what some pilgrims wanted, a utopian Christian society. The pilgrims were disappointed. Today's Christian utopians will be also. Here is why. The children of pilgrims did not believe the same things as their parents. Parents were roundly d...
Read more

Who Suffers from a "Hardened Heart"

Image
Some years ago on this blog there was a discussion about what the Bible calls "The hardened heart." The "hardened heart" was the explanation given for why people like me cannot accept the tenets of Christianity. We are unable to believe there are floating spirits and gods or imaginary places people go when the die. Now, a prominent Christian preacher and author has given us a way to diagnose the "hardened heart." It contained some surprises.  Rev. John Piper, who spoke about the hardened heart, said we can see this in a person who lacks "ordinary tenderness and compassion." He went on to describe the characteristics of a person without the affliction of the hardened heart. A healthy person displays empathy and sympathy. Those with the hardened heart are like stone. Jesus wanted compassion for the poor. The hardened heart discussion referred to atheists only if they are sinners and then it was indirectly. Sin, Piper said, hardens one's heart a...
Read more