Should there be a Separation of Church and State?
Hello participants, our next topic is here. There has been a keen interest and “hot” demand for this topic. I see it having some relevance to current events nationally for reasons of the upcoming federal elections. The topic is: Do you believe there should be a separation of church and state. If you do, must must this be an absolute state of separation or can it exist on various levels? Please state why you hold this view and what effect your view, if effected, could have on the governing of our nation?
I am privileged to be offering the first comment on this post…
I believe there are very clear Biblical and common sense arguments for an official separation of church and state.
I say “official separation”, because ALL governments have “unofficial” links to groups that hold to a particular world-view/philosophy… and often they are religious (if not explicitly, then implicitly). The advantage that well-established religions (Christianity, Islam etc) have over more specialised philosophically driven organisations is that they present a holistic view of things, not just on certain issues that are only relevant to the members of such an organisation.
Christianity provides answers to many of lifes questions, and has arguably the best foundation of any world-view to provide such answers.
Therefore I see religion as a great place for society to turn to for advise on all kinds of matters. The issue is whether or not society will trust religion… these days, traditional world-views are being categorically debunked and thrown out in the name of “post-modernism”, which is basically a philosophical concoction of pluralism (anything goes) and hedonism (if it feels good, its alright).
Personally I dont think you can sustain a position where religion rules society, where one particular world-view has complete control, or even partial control, or even is fighting for control in a governmental sense. However I do believe that all world-veiws, including religions should be given a fair hearing, unprejudiced, and with integrity of judgement.
The purpose of the separation of church and state was originally to release the church from the shackles of being responsible for looking after society, and to release society from the tyranny of those in the church that abused that position… and so that the church could continue to be the moral compass and social justice driver for everyone.
Unfortunately, we see now a (western) society in which the church has been rejected because it failed in its mandate to be that voice of moral direction & social justice… let alone practice its own moral standards.
Mark Butler
September 25, 2007
If you don’t mind Mark I would like to add to your excellent piece on the Separation of Church and State. To me, as I believe it is with Mark, the separation of church and state is a very simple matter. I do believe in the separation of church and state because there should never be an overlap of authority, especially when the mandate of one entity differs in purpose with that of another for the simple reason of conflicts of interest. If any of my fellow participant has other reasons feel free to add.
However I believe in an aggresive and even unapologetically brash and almost presumptous approach from individuals of christendom to bring to bear the values and issues that matter most to us. To engage in a concerted effort to block and restrict the efforts of every “other” and come to dominate this area of policy and decision making.
You say well Amb. shouldnt this be the case anyway….well why then are we seeing a sliding away of influence that we can have in this arena called politics?
I am currently reading Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography and something he said has really impacted me. Benjamin Franklin mentions that the quakers, a christian “sect”, due to their principle against war have found themselves in many an embarrasing situation. “They were unwilling to offend the government on the one hand, by a direct refusal, and their friends of the body of Quakers on the ohter, by a compliance contrary to their principles. Hence a variety of evasions to avoid complying, and modes of disguising the compliance when it became unavoidable….to avoid this kind of embarrassment the Quakers have of late years been gradually declining the public service in the assembly and in the magistracy. Choosing rather to quit their power than their principle.”
I believe this high ground should be won back with intent, prowess, eloquence and forcefulness. And on does not have to compromise principle to surrender or neglect the authority that is ours in the realm of politics.
To me the separation of church and state is simply a doing away with the ways of old where the church was the government in the absence of a body government. As long as there are clear entities in governance, everything else is permisable, I believe.
Amb
September 27, 2007
Don’t mean to be a bug bear but the comments have been a little.. obvious.. so far.
Most everyone agrees with separaton of Church and State. The problem that seems to be coming from some quarters is that they believe there should be a separation of Christians and State. This increasingly outspoken viewpoint is absolutely nonsensical for obvious reasns. Sorry for any typos, I can’t see what I am writing right now!
Mat
September 28, 2007
I think commenting on other people’s comments is a waste of space.
Mark Butler
October 4, 2007
Hello Mat I definitely agree with you however there still many european state especially in the northern part of europe where many nations are still governed by the church. How would you respond to that. It is just a matter time for a shift in attitude and public perception or is our current state of separation just a product of post modernism? It is a separation based on past experiences where conflicts of interest have taught us that the separation of church and state experientially as a nation is not preferable or is it a conscious doing away of “christian values” because of our post modernistic beliefs? Hope this is not too loaded a question for you Mat but this question is also intended for all participants of theblogforum.
Moderator
October 4, 2007
I think the question should probably be “What role does religion have to play in a society where a separation of Church & State exists?” Rather than arguing the benefits of that separation… which as Mat pointed out, these days are largely accepted by both religion and state.
Anyway, you’ve moved onto new topics now anyway…
Mark Butler
October 8, 2007
No, this topic is definitely still open Mark. I will visit these pages to see if there are any new comments submitted by participants.
Moderator
October 8, 2007