The Separation of the Church and the State In the United States of America - Research Paper Example

An Examination of the Human Exercise of Power: (Question 9: Show how anthropologists have examined the exercise of power in one or more societies ofyour choice) The Separation of the Church and the State In the United States of America Introduction The importance of religion is given high importance in the legislature of the American society. As for a fact, it is a sacred aspect of human living that it is directly supported by the law as the US legislation on the part that the society should be able to choose what they opt to believe into. The importance of this factor of considering religion as a separate function in the society away from the state is known to be among the most important part of the American legislature as it aims to leave the sacredness of religious procedures away from the restrictions and the believed imperfection of the human law (Mc Whirter, 1994, 14). However, it could be noticed that the impending procedure of the law and how the church usually meddles with the procedures of the state in implementing the law in several occasions make this particular aim of separating both factors of the society somewhat unreal at several points of consideration (Boston, 2005, 18). This is the primary reason why this particular study is being commenced. The examination of the situation is indeed an important discussion as it directly affects the entire society and how religion and the law could be balanced as they are exercised in the society. The issue being discussed in this paper is primarily based from the basic idea of the need of separating the responsibilities as well as the power of church and the state. This is primarily because of the separate aims of both sectors that make them particularly different from each other. Mixing both sectors of social function certainly brings about different conflicts within the systems of both sectors of the society. (Mc Whirter, 1994, 16) The History of the Movement on Separating the Church from the State The demarcation line between the state and the church begins with the educational amendments of the American practice in assisting the students gain knowledge about the Divinity of Religion towards the political involvement of the church within the different occasions that the government intend to decide on several issues that concern the society (Owen, 2000, 32). Because of the believed guidance that the church receives form the Grand Creator of all Things, some people tend to derive decisions from the church rather than simply relying on the law. (Hamburger, 2002, 47) Certain Protestant clergymen of the United States give much lip service to the principle of the separation of church and state. They loudly denounce any breaching of that wall by others, such as former President Truman's proposal to send an ambassador to the Vatican. But do they respect that wall of separation between church and state when it conflicts with their own interests to do so They do not (Owen, 2000, 43). The "Released Time" program by which school children are released from public schools so that they can take religious instructions elsewhere is a case in point. This program breaches the wall of separation in that it uses the state's compulsory school machinery to supply classes for religious organizations (Awake! 1989, 24). Clearly the issue is not merely one of whether or not provision should be made for religious instruction, as the clergymen sponsoring the "Released Time" program are not satisfied with having the schools dismissed one hour earlier so that those who want to can proceed to religious houses for instruction, for they well know that they cannot depend upon the children to voluntarily find their way to the places where such classes are being conducted. This is only among the primary reasons behind the movement of separating the state from the church (Boston, 2004, 56). The founding priests find it necessary for the state to consider that educating the society should be done away from the forced procedures of the human law. They intend to make the society learn about the ways of divinity, that way, the learning would be more effective than when it is forced. As Jefferson Thomas' letter to the Danbury Baptists reads: "Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between church and State" (TJLDB, http://grove.ufl.edu/leo/tj.html). From this particular letter, it could be derived that the history of the movement depends on the goal that religious activities be set away from the hindrances that could be placed forward by the human law. Aside from this, Jefferson Thomas' being elected in Presidency became the primary reason behind the creation of the metaphor of the "wall" between the church and the state. The separation indicates that the law that the is implemented towards the American society is indeed pointed out only to the activities of people set in separation of the activities of the religious groups or the church as a whole (Boston, 2005, 38). Since Thomas Jefferson actually sees the possibility that he might merge the systems of the church with the bylaws of the state during his regime, and later on create conflicts, he made it certain that the situation shall be controlled well, not only by him but also by other presidents that would follow on with The Reasons for Debate Not everyone actually agrees with the thought of completely separating the government from the disciplines of the Bible or of the religious groups. In fact, according to survey, there is at least 55% of the population in the United States who believe that there exists no separation among the people of the State and the Church at all (Mc Whirter, 1994, 34). As they see it in news reports, mostly its either the other sector of function in the society meddling with the other's activities and procedural arrangements on fulfilling their appointed responsibilities or the other way around. On the other hand, to some, the importance of applying the Biblical principles within the activities of the government is indeed necessary in aiming for a much progressive society that would be assisted through the guidance of the most high adviser, God (Boston, 2005, 43). However, other people who are mainly not religious at some point believe that involving the religious groups within the systems of the government would only result to conflict that would certainly result to misalignment of the goals of the law. The fanaticism that some sectors of the religious organization have towards insistent implication of Biblical principles upon the human law is believed by some to have a forceful impact upon the balance of law that is aimed by the government for the human society (Hamburger, 2002, 12). These primary conflicting opinions certainly affects the procedures made to amend the issue on the said separation. In line with this, the amendment of the American Declaration of Independence has been pushed through to assist the changes that are proposed by both sectors to set the balance between the application of the responsibilities as well as the powers of the Church and the State. The Declaration of Independence reads: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." (scs, 2005, Internet) Most likely, the importance of alienating the principles of the Bible with regards the procedure of implementing the law to the human society has been given much stress in this particular declaration of the American Independence. The implementation of the secular law and its integration with the divine law of God could be seen by some to be the primary source of the aimed success of the human society (Owen, 2000, 25). However, the limitations are still set to certainly identify the separation of the law from the systems of the church. What Has been Done and What the Future Holds Educating the society with regards the basic principles in the Bible in connection with living a faithful and successful life is indeed an important part of the responsibilities of the law. However, the limitations in controlling the said activity of the society with regards religion is also set in a certain line of demarcation form the rights of the government to affect the said implementation of procedural arrangements of educating the American society on values and religion. Meanwhile, on the part of the church's meddling with the law, the limitations are also set in a certain measure of arranged rights for the church. Most of the time, the state and the religious groups are given the chance to decide for their own welfare therefore allowing everyone the right to freedom that they are due (Boston, 2005, 39) . Certainly, the future holds much promise in balancing the systems that are existent between the Church and the State altogether. From the continuous debates and the researches that are proceeded at present with regards the possible amendment between the different goals and principles of the law and the church, the possible solution for the issue could be expected to have a certain implementation in the future. (Owen, 2000, 42) Conclusion It has been noted in this study that the separation of the law or the State from the systems of the Church indeed affects the lives of the people within the society. The ruling power that both sectors of function in the society certainly affects the regular activities of the human population (Hamburger, 2002, 31). Hence, the integration of both functions, as debated and researched by several social and religious as well as government organizations at present could be identified as one of the ways by which the conflicts could be resolved. Certainly, because of the different views of both sectors with regards the law and the human life success, confusion could be expected (Owen, 2000, 43). However, through setting certain limitations of merging the two powerful systems in the human communities, the success from such procedures could be expected. True, the power of the church and the state could not be completely separated as proposed by the movement of the founding priests regarding the separation of the said sections of the human society (Mc Whirter, 19994, 26). Primarily because of the fact that the goals of both sectors of function in the society are almost the same in terms of human success, separation of their principles may not be that easy to attain at all (Owen, 2000, 21). Although the "wall" of separation as it has been proposed by Thomas Jefferson to be a part of the American legislation, the fact that most of the population in the American society still believes in sovereign guidance makes this particular proposal quire questionable to some particular social groups (Hamburger, 2002, 31). Although the idea is certainly helpful in creating a fully balanced society, most of the issues that are in connection with this particular suggestion of Thomas Jefferson are quite debatable. The opinions of the people behind the effectiveness of merging the Biblical principles with the statements of the law divert the to thinking of fanaticism as one part of the problem (Mc Whirter, 1994, 56). As mentioned earlier, only considerable measures of limitations between the said merging procedures could the separation of the state and the church be met. Reference: Internet Sources: Thomas Jefferson's Letter to Danbury Baptists. November 18, 1996. http://grove.ufl.edu/leo/tj.html. (November 24, 2008).. Separation of Church and State.(2005). http://www.theocracywatch.org/separation_church_state2.htm. (November 24, 2008). The US Constitution online.(2007). Jefferson's Wall of Separation Letter. http://www.usconstitution.net/jeffwall.html. (November 24, 2008). Books: Darien A. McWhirter. (1994). The Separation of Church and State (Exploring the Constitution Series). Oryx Press. Rob Boston. (2004). Legacy of freedom: Jefferson, Madison and the nation's founders left us church-state separation. Can we keep it. Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Rob Boston. (2005). The forgotten founder: long before Madison and Jefferson gave us church-state separation, Roger Williams fought for soul liberty. Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Philip Hamburger. (2002). Separation of Church and State. Harvard University Press. J. Judd Owen. (2000). Religion and the Demise of Liberal Rationalism: The Foundational Crisis of the Separation of Church and State. University Of Chicago Press. Read More