Separation of Church and State

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This doesn't happen too often on my blog, but I'm ticked off about this so I'm stepping on my soapbox...it's my blog, I can do that. :-)

Separation of church and state

This gets thrown around so much in the wrong context - it's frustrating when people try to use this as an argument of why there shouldn't be prayer here and there or the Ten Commandments displayed here and there or other nonsense such as this. People, do your homework for goodness sake! There is a widespread belief that separation of church and state was created to keep people from practicing or expressing their religion or beliefs in state/public buildings/areas/functions, etc. This is NOT what this was created for!

Separation of church and state comes from the First Ammendment:

• Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances

The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibits the establishment of a national religion by the Congress or the preference of one religion over another, non-religion over religion, or religion over non-religion.

In essence, what this all means is Separation of Church and State was created to KEEP the STATE'S nose out of people's individual religious beliefs and NOT ALLOW the state/government to make a one-world religion.

You can read more about the laws here, here and here.