Mind of the Monkey

A reminder of why we have a separation of church and state…

One Comment to “A reminder of why we have a separation of church and state…”

1. 
   History Matters
   14 November 2008 at 6:24 pm

   Maybe I’m wrong, but I think a “theocracy” is a form of government. A church that takes a strong stand on a political issue does not make a theocracy. Our Founding Fathers put in place the First Amendment so that government would not interfer with churches or try to establish a national church that all citizens would have to support. That same First Amendment protects free speech.

   The whole purpose of the Constitution and especially the Bill of Rights (first 10 amendments) was to assign to the Federal Government only certain powers, leaving all others to the states and the people. The prohibitions in the First Amendment are on Congress, not the church.

   Some priests and ministers are being reported to the IRS for their sermons this year. The are threatened with losing their tax-exempt status. That status is contigent on the churches not engaging in political speech from the pulpit. In other words, Congress made a law prohibiting the free exercise of religion and also limiting free speech. The actual text of the First Amendment is:

   “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 peaceable to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

   That’s all there is. No “separation of church and state” metaphor found there. The Amendment is very specific in what it limits, while the metaphor that many have assumed to be in the Amendment does not really give very specific guidance and can be taken many ways.

   There is more expressed here:
   http://churchvstate.blogspot.com/2008/11/when-does-sermon-cross-line-and-who.html

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