Religion and politics can be a tricky area, especially in American politics. We are all from various backgrounds, different religious beliefs and contrasting social classes making it difficult to please everyone. But as for that line between religion and church, where is it drawn?
In my opinion, it needs to be pretty dang thick between church and government.
My reasoning behind this is the good ol’ U.S. Constitution. In that document, it says quite a few things about religion. The first of which is in article six at the end of the third clause where it claims, “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”
This may not seem like a big deal to us now, but at the time in which the Constitution was written, it most definitely was.
Very seldom were elected officials in that era not submitted to a religious test. In many countries, one even had to be a distinct sect of Christianity in order to hold office. But our founding fathers did not want that for our nation, and I think that may have been one of the smartest articles they placed in the Constitution.
To me, the First Amendment may be the single greatest concept the framers of the Constitution ever gave us. In that Amendment, it states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
This amendment not only grants us the freedom of religion, but the freedom from religion as well. This is what many people forget when thinking about the relationship between religion and politics.
This is where I draw that line between church and state. I conclude that, yes, we do have the ability to believe what we want. In turn, we do not have to be forced by anyone to follow anything we do not want to. Freedom from religion is much more important than freedom of religion.
I hate to break it to many people, but America is not a Christian nation. It never intended to be. What we are is a free nation. We have the ability to choose what we believe and a choice in what manner we believe in it.
Religion is a personal matter and does not believe in government. I am blessed that I live in a country that allows me to write about my beliefs in a public forum such as this and not be reprimanded. Sure, maybe some people want to go back to the era when we were a “good wholesome Christian society” as it would have some moral benefits, but that comes at the cost of sacrificing freedom, and we should never succumb to that level.
Remember: Keep the religion in the home and out of our government.
