The Flaw in Separation of Church and State

The political debate on religion in education is no small issue. It attacks the core of our civil rights, but what is the answer to this most difficult debate? Can a government be separate from religion? The fact remains that never does the Constitution mention the term “Separation of Church and State.” What the first amendment says is, “Congress shall make no law regarding religion or the practice there of.” Thus Congress cannot regulate religion. This brings us to an interesting question.

How do we define religion? Religion can have many meanings. Most people take religion to mean belief in a certain god. Though this is not an incorrect definition, it is also not complete. Webster’s Dictionary defines religion as; “1) the service and worship of God or a supreme being, 2) devotion to a religious faith, 3) a personal set or institutionalized system of beliefs, attitudes, or practices, 4) a cause, principle, or belief held to with faith and ardor.” After considering this definition of religion, it is clear that the Government cannot be separate from religion. Science, philosophy, and even politics become religions. By prohibiting the practice of religion in schools or the teachings of other faiths, we have broken the first amendment by preferring one religion, secularism, above all other religions. The First Amendment states “Congress can pass no law concerning religion, or the free practice there of…” This quote does not separate religion from the government, but rather separates the government from preferring one religion over another. The founders of our nation understood that you could not separate a man from his beliefs and they allowed any free man to run for government positions. The purpose of the First Amendment was not to separate government from religious influence, but to separate government from religious influence. Thus every supreme court ruling concerning religion is unconstitutional.

In the introduction to this paper I called science and secularism a religion and quoted Webster’s Dictionary as my proof. For a moment let us examine these claims for merit. Science teaches that everything can be learned through a four step system known as the Scientific Method. Thus the Scientific Method becomes the foundation of the religion of Science. The four steps of the scientific method include:

1. Observation and description of a phenomenon or group of phenomena.
2. Formulation of an hypothesis to explain the phenomena. In physics, the hypothesis often takes the form of a causal mechanism or a mathematical relation.
3. Use of the hypothesis to predict the existence of other phenomena, or to predict quantitatively the results of new observations.
4. Performance of experimental tests of the predictions by several independent experimenters and properly performed experiments.

Since all scientist agree with this basic doctrine and will argue fervently to support their belief in this system, it is thus for the foundation of the religion of science.