Separation of church and state

All too often the idea of “separation of church and state” is brought up amidst issues of national interest. I have often wondered if this is even an achievable statement.

We claim we want the government out of our churches and yet we still want prayers said in schools, the Ten Commandments displayed in courtrooms and the Bible to govern judicial decisions. All of these are forms of government establishments. Some of the biggest issues in this perpetual debate between church and state are abortion and same-sex marriage. Christians use morals based on biblical principles to say that abortion is murder and therefore should be illegal. Christians also say that because the Scriptural definition of marriage is between one man and one woman, that is the only marriage that should be honored through the judicial system.

As a friend wise beyond his years recently told me, there must be some form of agreement reached between the church and the state as to topics they collaborate on or are at least willing to be civil about. Without a level of mutual understanding and agreement between the two, we will be plagued by the same arguments forever.

While I wholeheartedly agree with the church’s stance on both of these issues, we have to ask ourselves how we can argue these defenses when we also claim we want there to be separation of church and state. Why should this be a one-way street where the church can demand anything it wishes from the state?

We want freedom of religion, but we also want the government to adhere to our religion of choice.

One of my all-time favorite professors and men I look up to most in my life said, “There cannot be freedom of religion without freedom from religion.”

No one can prove what our founding fathers or any of America’s great influential individuals meant when it was said our nation was supposed to be a Christian nation or be based on Christian principles. The way I have always seen the reasoning behind the concept of separation of church and state was that the state will not declare a mandatory religion every citizen must follow. This is precisely what our ancestors fought so hard against to escape. I also believe this statement means the country’s citizens may practice any religion they choose as long as it does not endanger those around them.

We must decide as a nation what “One nation under God” means. To completely abandon this statement and the morals our nation has historically adhered to (which I believe are based on biblical references) would put us in position very opposed to our current state.

Is it possible to reach an agreement between the church and state in terms of how far each of their powers extend?

I am possibly one of the most conservative individuals I know both religiously and politically and I agree with nearly every issue struck down due to religious reasons but I acknowledge our liberal-leaning half. Decisions on issues like abortion, same-sex marriage and war cannot be fully determined until the roles of church and state and their interaction with each other are reached.

During a time of such great controversy in our country, it will be interesting to see how these issues set precedence for future issues that blur the line between religious and government intervention.

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