Separation of Church and State

Countless men and women throughout time have suffered persecution – pain, torture, humiliation, and even death – for expressing their religious beliefs to the world. Some of the worst of these persecutions have come from the hand of government or the “official” church institution itself. Fox (1926) observes that in the Spain of the 1200’s, the inquisition was so powerful that even the monarchs lived in fear of it. He says of the inquisitors, “…the horrid cruelties they exercised compelled multitudes, who differed in opinion from the Roman Catholics, carefully to conceal their sentiments” (p. 60).

The cry for religious freedom in the American colonies was a strong one. Many of the immigrants in America had come to escape the Church of England, while the immigrant groups themselves differed in denomination. If your denomination was not the majority in colonial government, you may be discriminated against. This led our forefathers to pen the First Amendment to the Constitution, which guaranteed the freedom of religion.

The Constitution was written in 1787, and became effective when New Hampshire, the ninth state, ratified the document on June 21, 1788. In 1791, the states approved ten amendments to the Constitution; they are known as the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment deals, in part, with the issue of the power of government over religion and, hence, has become the focal point of the debate over the separation of church and state.

While the interpretation of the First Amendment is obviously crucial to the separation debate, the two main issues to focus on are whether the original Constitution gave the federal government any power over religion and whether the First Amendment can itself be interpreted as a grant of power to the federal government. Also, can there be a relationship between the churches and the states? Or is that expressly prohibited?

Statement of the Problem

Religion has become a political problem. As our nation has developed, Christianity has remained the prominent cultural background, religiously speaking. Anybody who drives through a small town in America will realize this as they pass as three, four, five, or even more churches right along the main street. Some of the symbols from Christianity have been seen in government or other public places. Take the Ten Commandments, for instance. Many courthouses in America have a copy of those verses from Exodus, right on their front stairs. But as diversity in America increases religiously, some towns are being sued and forced to remove such items. Other places, such as airports, are being told to remove their holiday decorations, religious or not.