Relationship between religion and politics throughout history

Introduction

One will be hard-pressed to imagine living life without having one form of government or another . Even in the early civilizations , there was always the existence of some form of authority to lead the masses or a certain group of individuals . The Egyptians had their Pharaohs , the Romans had their Caesars and Senates , the Greeks had their governments and even the Middle Ages had their royalty . Suffice it to say that at virtually every point in man 's history , there has always been one form of government or another that existed

for the purpose of managing the affairs of the people and protecting them from oppressors

Traditionally , governments existed for the sole purpose of governance so that there would be a common factor that united the people and helped them progress in a singular direction . These governments exhibited a certain structure wherein there was a single ruler or head that gave the decrees and s and determined what laws were to be established There was no separation of powers as is characterized by the more modern forms of government that exist around the world at the present . All powers , executive , legislative and judicial , were more often embodied in a single person or head . As history has shown , this was a bad precedent and has been corrected by the separation of powers to prevent the abuse by the solitary head or ruler

Another peculiar characteristic of early forms of government is the fact that the authority that the ruler or head exercised was said to have been derived from a much higher being or one form of deity or another . The power to rule over the people was never claimed , until later years , to be from the common will of the masses but rather was authority that was handed down from God and therefore unquestionable This practice was common in most governments until after the Middle Ages when the European societies gave rise to new religions and the birth of the American civilization

Perhaps , one of the most important articles in the United States constitution is the provision that mandates the separation of the church and the state . As history has revealed , there have always been problems when there is excessive entanglement between the church and the state As the historical accounts during early western civilization reveal , the Roman Catholic Church has been widely responsible for a number of historical battles and was very influential in the political arena of Europe during that time . Learning from this experience , the forefathers who drafted the American Constitution inserted a provision that is now known as the First Amendment that mandated the separation of church and state

Under this provision , the government respects the right of the people to practice any religion of their choosing but reserves the right prohibit certain practices that may harm other people . This issue was ruled upon by the Supreme Court in the case of Lukumi Babalu Aye , which was an offshoot of Santeria and practiced the live sacrifice of animals and in this case the Supreme Court ruled that while the belief of individuals cannot be restrained the external practice can be regulated in the best interests of the state . This amendment also mandates that the government will not suppress nor support the practice of any single religion

Doctrine of the Separation of Church and State

In to arrive at a better understanding of the relevance of this government principle , it is important to first understand how the phrase came about what the recent developments have been with regard to this principle . The phrase , separation of Church and State , is actually from a letter that was written by one of the founding fathers , Thomas Jefferson , to a group that called themselves the Danbury Baptists . In the letter , Thomas Jefferson wrote that , 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 ' This was of course in reference to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution (Whitsitt 1896

The basic precept of this doctrine is founded on a firm belief that religion and state should be separate . It covers a very wide spectrum as mentioned in the previous sections of this discussion , ranging from the secularization or elimination of the church to theocracy wherein the state works in tandem with a religion in to govern over the acts of people (Bradley 1996

Recent Developments with regard to Separation of Church and State Principle

The issue regarding the constitutionality of mandatory school prayer in schools in hinged on the separation between the church and the state that has been decreed by the constitution . On one side , there are those who argue that prayer in public school classrooms should be declared unconstitutional because it involves excessive entanglement ' which is prohibited under the doctrine of separation of church and state (Clark 35 . The other view is based more on the argument that such act is permissible because even the Pledge of allegiance contains the phrase under God (Clark 35 ' It is humbly submitted in this position , however , that the more correct view remains to be that prayer in classrooms should be tolerated as long as it is not mandatory

In arriving at a better understanding of this issue , it is first important to define the constitutional issue at hand . The phrase separation of Church and State , is actually from a letter that was written by one of the founding fathers , Thomas Jefferson , to a group that called themselves the Danbury Baptists (Busher 13 . In the letter Thomas Jefferson wrote that , 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 ' This was of course in reference to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution (Whitsitt 186

The basic precept of this doctrine is founded on a firm belief that religion and state should be separate . It covers a very wide spectrum as mentioned in the previous sections of this discussion , ranging from the secularization or elimination of the church to theocracy wherein the state works in tandem with a religion in to govern over the acts of people (Bradley 199

The problem is that while the church and state do maintain that there is indeed a necessity to abide by the doctrine of the separation of church and state there is no clear way of delineating the boundaries between the spheres of these two institutions (Bradley 199 . There are still certain acts that require entanglement between the church and the state because of the duty of the government to cater to the welfare of its people who invariably belong to some form of religion , in most cases One of these instances is when prayer is allowed in public school classrooms

To argue that prayer is unconstitutional would be to deny the people the right to their rich American history . The first settlers were Pilgrims and even the first thanksgiving meal , though not seemingly a prayer by conventional means , was actually an act of thanking the almighty God for all the blessings (Bradley 199 . If prayer is to be considered as a religious affirmation that is offensive to the constitution then other forms such as the pledge of allegiance and the In God We Trust declaration on the dollar bill must also be struck down (Bradley 199 It cannot therefore be argued prayer in public school classrooms is a clear violation of the establishment clause when even the humble dollar bill has the sign in God we trust ' written on it . If it is to be argued that prayer is a violation of the establishment clause then so must the dollar bill be struck down as a violation (Bradley 199 . Yet time and again the almighty dollar has prevailed

The reason for this is because such a declaration is not an endorsement of a single religion , which is exactly what the establishment clause prohibits , but rather it is a declaration by the American people of their belief in a superior being . This argument is not limited to a single God but to all Gods of whatever beliefs . The beauty of the American democracy is that it empowers instead of stifles . It encourages instead of denies . To argue that prayer should not be allowed is unpatriotic , it is un-American

Conclusion

No other controversy deeply embodies the government principle of the separation of the church and state that the issue surrounding the recitation of the pledge of allegiance in public school classrooms . The pledge of allegiance is exactly just that , a pledge of allegiance to the American flag and all that it stands for . A single word or phrase isolated and taken out of context does much to remove the original intent from it . As one of the America 's most honored secular symbols the pledge of allegiance is viewed by many in the same light as the National Anthem . This historical and cultural significance is what makes America the great nation that it is . The continued declaration of this pledge has done little to prevent the influx of immigrants into America . In fact , the immigrants themselves , regardless of creed , race or religion , proudly remember the day when they are able to proudly recite that pledge because it is a symbol of everything that America stands for . It is not a prayer to God but rather it is an oath to America and to the forefathers

The use of the word God in the Pledge of Allegiance does not further the cause of any single religion . Instead , it serves to show the rest of the world the pride that Americans have for their great nation . It shows unity . It shows strength . It shows the American way

References

A Call for Mandatory Pledge in Schools . Rein , Lisa , The Washington Post January 25 , 2001

Constitutional Amendments : 1789 to the Present . Gale Group , Inc , 2000

Busher , Leonard (1614 . Religious Peace : or , a Plea for Liberty of Conscience

Clark , James R (1965 . Messages of the First Presidency . Brigham Young University , Department of Educational Leadership Foundations Retrieved on 2007-1-30

Fighting the Establishment (Clause . Bradley , Jennifer , The American Prospect , September 1 , 1996 . Available at http /www .prospect .org /print /V7 /28 /bradley-j .html

Religion in the Public Schools : A Joint Statement of Current Law . The American Civil Liberties Union , 1996 . Available at http /aclu .org /issues /religion /relig7 .html

West Encyclopedia of American Law . West Group , 1998

Whitsitt , Dr . William (1896 . A Question in Baptist History : Whether the Anabaptists in England Practiced Immersion Before the Year 1641 . C . T Dearing , pp . 69-70

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