Church and State: The Establishment Clause in America Today Aaron Porter ENG 122 Dr. Dwight Paulsen August 19, 2013 Church and State: The Establishment Clause in America Today The Founding Fathers worked to establish a free and independent nation. One of the key issues that resulted in the American Revolution is that of Freedom of Religion. The goal of the Framer’s was to establish a society free of government control of religion. The First Amendment to the constitution guarantees that right for all American citizens. While the country was founded on religious beliefs, the separation of church and state is necessary for religious freedom because it leads to better foreign relations, protects the church, and protects democracy.
Why has the United States paid lip service to the 14th & 15th Amendments while it venerates Amendments 1-10? Amendments 1-10 are known as the Bill of Rights and guarantee individual freedoms and protections from the intrusion of the federal government. Perhaps the most important and critical amendment is the first Amendment:“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” This amendment details the freedoms the founders were seeking to give the people; for with these rights they guaranteed that we can assert our views of religion, of speech, that we can protest and change unfair practices. Three Amendments are called the Reconstruction Amendments for the period following the Civil War called Reconstruction 1865-1877. The concept was that the defeated southern states would be rehabilitated and brought back to normal standing as citizens of the united states during this reconstruction period.
Technically there is no such thing as a "direct" order. Orders are either lawful or unlawful. The informal term "direct order" tends to mean an order given face-to-face from a person in authority to a subordinate. It has zero meaning under the UCMJ as the "direct order" still has to be lawful to have effect. Upon enlisting each soldier swore the following oath; I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Separation of church and state is a paraphrasing of Thomas Jefferson’s words when asked about the function and intent of the establishment clause and the free exercise clause, which are both in the first amendment. The establishment clause states that the government may not establish an official religion, and free exercise clause, which says that the government may not interfere with religious practices, (116). This is confusing because of contradicting ideas: “one nation, under God,” in the Pledge of Allegiance, and “in God we trust,” written on money. The idea of separation of church and state is important because this was a key idea that America was born on: that no religion is forced, and religion shall be practiced freely. 8.
First Amendment: Freedom of Religion In the year 1787 our forefathers ratified the Constitution of the United States of America, which contains the most important document to any American citizen, the Bill of Rights. The Fist Amendment of the Bill of Rights states “ Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech; or of press; or the right of people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances” (The const.). Freedom of religion is the most important thing to any individual; it is the right to believe in the faith of ones choice. Our forefathers acknowledged it’s significant in building a strong and powerful nation that its citizen may enjoy the true freedom
The United States of America was not founded on Christian principles but on the enlightened principle of human rights, that all people are created equal, and endowed with certain rights, among those are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Many of the Founding Fathers were practicing Christians but they also saw Christianity becoming increasingly associated with systems of political oppression. They believed any one religion should not be forced upon its citizens and they made religious freedom the cornerstone of faith in the new republic. Their ideals are rooted in enlightenment ideals, trust of reason over revelation and emphasis on natural rights. They were part of the Age of Enlightenment that began in Europe and later came to the American colonies.
The first amendment states, “Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression.” The Compact states, “Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith…” As you can see the pilgrims were practicing there own religion of Christianity and no one was there to tell them they couldn’t worship that so they had freedom of religion as seen in the first amendment. Lastly, after reading about the Mayflower Compact in These United States The Questions of Our Past By Irwin
The State will not allow him to. Why? The state believes in the words of the Bible and the Bible says no to gay marriage. The U.S. Bill of Rights, which is part of the U.S. Constitution which is what the States and Country are supposed to base legislature and justified thoughts on, gives ALL citizens freedom and “freedom from religion” in the first amendment. The State should not be allowed to restrict someone of their rights based on a certain religion.
It’s not like anyone is getting hurt by letting people be happy. This is the United States everyone is supposed to have the same rights. “Gay and lesbian rights are not ‘special rights’ in any way. It isn’t ‘special’ to be free from discrimination - it is an ordinary, universal entitlement of citizenship.” (Bond) But clearly that isn’t how it is anymore. "The Church teaches that respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behaviour or to legal recognition of homosexual unions.
Therefore, these are rights that can’t be taken away or unalienable, unalienable rights are rights that are unable to be alienated, given up, or transferred to someone else. They come from God, and no man or government can rightly give them or take them away. Some examples of unalienable rights are life; liberty; self-government; to bear arms; to purchase, develop and dispose of property; make personal choices; free conscience; choice of profession; choice of a mate; to assemble; to petition; and to free speech. Lastly, even with times passing and things changing, we have to remember that we the people are the authority in America. We have to educate ourselves for the sake of progress while still reminding ourselves that our Constitution is