*the idea that the government and religion should be separate, and not interfere in each other's affairs. In the United States, this idea is based on the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which states that the government cannot make any laws to establish a state religion or prohibit the free exercise of religion.
Essentially, this prohibits the government to demand that all the people in the United States follow a certain form of religion. (For the type of devastation this can actually cause, please study up on British history.)
The Separation of Church and State also prohibits religious leaders from stepping up and taking over the government. This is not to say that a religious leader should not be allowed to run for president. If he were willing and able to keep his religion from running the government, then all things would be well. However, I do see this as a conflict of interest, and I think it would be difficult.
That being said, I do not believe that a person should be required to put aside their beliefs and their religion and what they have been taught and feel is right, if it pertains to God, when they vote. Doing so is NOT part of the Separation Of Church and State, in fact, it goes directly against the first amendment, which reads:
**Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791. Note
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.
There is absolutely nothing in the first amendment, which supports the Separation of Church and State, saying that a church cannot petition the government to change a law that dissatisfies them. There is nothing here saying that people who believe, because of anything, INCLUDING their religion, have to accept a law that is undesirable.
Furthermore, while it does not give religious leaders the right to run the government, it DOES give them the right to ASSEMBLE PEACEABLY- which, essentially means that they CAN rightfully request that their members vote a certain way.
In the whole history of my church, I do not ever recall our leaders asking us to vote in a certain way, only to pray about our decision and to actually VOTE and take responsibility in our glorious free country. UNTIL the onset of California's Proposition 8 in 2008, where they asked members of the church residing in California to vote yes for the bill stating:
***Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California
As a member of the LDS church, and one who did not vote on this because I am not, and never have been, a legal resident of California, I have been the subject of much personal ridicule about my religion, and my church leaders and their "unconstitutional act" and their disregard for the idea of "Separation of Church and State" because they donated a large sum of money to the campaign against gay marriage, when in fact, when a person understands in full the definition of both the First Amendment and the definition of the Separation of Church and State, the leaders of my church never overstepped their bounds.
And yet, I have not reached my point.
Everywhere one turns, one sees the influence of people- be they Atheists or Agnostics- who do not believe in God, claiming that the use of God's name in our schools, on our money, in our Pledge of Allegiance, in our newspapers and daily conversations are infringing on their constitutional rights NOT to believe in God.
I happen to belong to several chat boards, both for my blog and for my parenting, and birth boards. Daily I see one or more claim to this. Someone may mention a scripture passage, or ask for prayers for a sick child or family member. Nearly all of these types of posts are harmless, faith filled responses to a situation where no one is proselyting or suggesting someone join their religion lest they go to Hell. In fact, many of these comments are simple answers to a question such as, for example, a thread called "Pre-marital Sex: What do you think about it?" If one should mention that morally and religiously, they think it is wrong, they are immediately bombarded with posts requesting that they not force their religious beliefs onto that person because they don't believe in God, or that a person's view on a political topic is invalid because they are using God as their moral compass, instead of their compassion for human beings, or that it's invalid because they are not employing the idea of Separation of Church and State (which is a false claim, as mentioned above.) In every instance, these people claim that those people who are rightfully displaying and utilising their belief in God are robbing the unbelievers of their right to live without hindrance of accountability to a higher being.
My question is: Where are our rights? You have successfully eliminated God from our Schools and very much of society. The first Amendment, while I personally feel it it obvious that it also supports those who choose NO religion as well as those who DO choose one, gives us the RIGHT to put our prayers, and our scriptures out there! Stated securely in the constitution, it is said that they may NOT REVOKE THE FREEDOMS OF SPEECH OR PRESS! In essence, NO ONE may tell us that we are hindering anyone's rights because we choose to pray, and then write or talk about it. No one may tell us that we are hindering rights because we VOTE based on the moral ways we feel because of our knowledge gained through religion.
There is NO valid comment that a person can make in stating that a person's constitutional rights are being tramped on because a person with a belief in God has chosen to divulge their belief. The Separation of Church and state is not meant to remove God from every aspect of our lives and keep it hidden deep inside the walls of churches and out of our voting and our conversations, it is MEANT to protect the rights of those who chose to BE religious.
*Courtesy of www.historycentral.com
**Courtesy of www.usconstitution.net
***Courtesy of www.wikipedia.org
So what do you think? Do YOU feel that someone who talks about their God and religion is overstepping their bounds when talking to you? Why do you feel that your rights are more valid than theirs? Do you believe that a person should be allowed to freely express their belief in God? Let me know! And I know this is a HEAVY topic. We're moving up. Remember to PLAY NICE. Mean, personal attacks will be deleted. That's a warning. Keep it civil.