Separation of Church and State

	WISE UP! Give us 5 Minutes, and we'll Wise You Up
	Past issues June 2006

"The Constitution does not mention the separation of Church and State. In fact, the Declaration of Independence specifically mentions God, and the founding fathers were deeply religious men. This notion of "separation of church and state" is an invention of the 20th century, it's a fabrication that needs to be eradicated."

This issue is pretty clear, but it's been made muddy by a lot of rhetoric and misinformation. The grand-standing tends to focus on three issues: the pledge of allegiance, "In God we Trust" on money, and displaying the Ten Commandments in government buildings.

This issue is used to get Christians all stirred up. It's silliest when it comes around every year, in the form of "liberals trying to outlaw Christmas." But Wise Up! If the separation of church and state is such an important issue, how come there aren't any focused cases headed for the Supreme Court? Because losing there is a virtual certainty. This issue is in the media only to get you frothed up and angry.

In the Constitution, the founding fathers were explicit: Congress was not to make any laws that would establish a religion. No religious test was to be used for any holder of public office. The Constitution doesn't even mention the word God or church at all. Some of the founding fathers were deeply agnostic, and all of them wanted freedom for all religions. In the Federalist Papers -- where the intent of the Constitution was debated -- the founding fathers were pretty clear about what they wanted. Thomas Jefferson described the Constitution as "building a wall of separation between Church and State."

The Supreme Court from its earliest days has been very consistent in interpreting the Constitution: the government must not take a stand on religious issues or any specific religion. The Supreme Court even refers to this as a doctrine.

Even if the government should be encouraging faith, where would you draw the line? There are over 150 languages spoken in the US, and probably the same number of religious sects. If you want to put up something for Christmas, what about Channukah and Russian Orthodox Christmas and Kwanzaa? The founders had it right: just say no.

Find out more...

Web Resource: The serious stuff all in one place
Hypocrites: Those who scream for the 10 commandments don't know what they are
The Bill of Rights: Take a minute to read just the first paragraph of this article
The Federalist Papers: What did the Founding Fathers intend?
The Constitution: The prototype for every modern government -- be proud of it

What did we get wrong?

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