Religious Freedom in the U.S; Separation Between Church and State

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Americans have religious freedom in the United States, yet few people strive to take their religious views into account into governmental choices or opt not to stay glued to someone because of their faith. Some individuals believe that religion and also state should rather be kept apart so that people’s religious liberty is protected and not jeopardized. People claim that politicians “cannot be faithful to both the church and the Constitution” (“New Media”) (Akmaliah, 2020). For example, when Ronald Reagan became the first Catholic president candidate for workplace, he delivered the speech in which he remarked, “not what sort of religion I believe in, but that should be significant solely to me, but what kind of America I believe in.”

People all around the United States hold diverse religious beliefs, and if we do not separate religion and state, there will still be problems all over the country. Examples of conflicts include when a public school was teaching Catholicism to their students and the parents were not happy with this. The parents had their children removed from the school because they believed it was wrong for their children to be taught about Catholic worship rituals (Blancarte, 2018). This conflict is an example of where church and state are intertwined in America because the church has a strong influence on the government (“A Look at Religion”). In 1642 England established Parliament to “establish religious freedom” while also setting up laws that would support freedom (“United States History”). In America, establishment meant that there is a separation between religion and state while also making sure everyone has free exercise of religion.

In an attached summary by Alison Kodjak “Trump Administration Will Protect Health Workers Who Refuse Services on Religious Grounds,” many women claimed that they were denied access to healthcare because of their personal religious beliefs. While some people believe that the Freedom of Religion is a great thing for America, there are others who see it as an ominous threat to human dignity and equality. When church and state are mixed in these circumstances, there may be a lot of problems with people attempting to receive abortions, gender change surgeries, or simply ordinary treatment based on their views (Kodjak, 2018). This can often lead to people losing health care and other services as it will create havoc throughout the state since a lot of doctors may decline to treat some individuals.

In his article “When Religious Freedom Is a Recipe for Discrimination,” Rob Boston discusses religious independence in the commercial world, especially in government schools. Boston concerns if religions should indeed be taught in schools, if through religious or prayers festivals. Some people think that religious beliefs are not something that should be forced in a school but then, other people think this is a good way for kids to learn about their religion (Neill, 2019). While some people believe that church and state should not be separated because of our religious freedom, others do not agree with this idea and think that we need to separate church and state because it will help maintain peace within America.

There should be a separation of church and state in the United States because failure to do so would produce issues for American citizens. Policy arguments support the idea that people should not have religious freedoms taken away. For example, if religion is involved in public life, then people will be more careful about what they say or do. Some people argue that if religion is involved in government than government officials could get more job opportunities for churches because it gives them a reason to be nice and help their fellow countrymen (Blancarte, 2018). In “The Separation of Church and State” written by Thomas Jefferson, he argues that church and state are never allowed to be separated in America because it would lead to a slide towards dictatorship.

State and religion should be kept separate in most circumstances, however certain religious festivals that have been observed for years are acceptable to include in both government and schools. My personal view is that religion is a very personal thing, and only people who chose to practice should be given the freedom to do so. Personal views aside, I do not believe that religion should have any influence over governmental decisions. If people are to respect the separation of church and state; then legislation cannot give special privileges to religious organizations, for instance, allowing churches to use tax-payer money on housing or schools (Prud’homme, 2021).

Religion is a very personal thing and I fully understand that there are those who believe religion should be part of politics. I think that the concept of division between state and church have to be kept in any government policy, not only in the United States of America but across the world too. The separation of church and state is a very sensitive issue; I do not believe that religion should be mixed with government at all because it could potentially cause serious issues for certain people (Prud’homme, 2021). Religion is something that should stay within a person’s personal sphere, it does not belong in government at all.

References

Akmaliah, W. (2020). The demise of moderate Islam: new media, contestation, and reclaiming religious authorities. Indonesian Journal of Islam and Muslim Societies, 10(1).

Blancarte, R. (2018). Let’s Be Reasonable!. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 86(1), 228-230.

Kodjak, A. (2018). Trump admin will protect health workers who refuse services on religious grounds. NPR. org.

Neill, D. R. (2019). The Disestablishment of Religion in Virginia: Dissenters, Individual Rights, and the Separation of Church and State. The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 127(1), 2-41.

Prud’homme, J. (2021). Separation of Church and State, American Exceptionalism, and the Contemporary Social Moment: Viewing Church–State Separation from the Priority of Slavery. Religions, 12(1), 34.