Separation Of Church And What?
A healthy separation of church and state getting too boring for you? Well good news then!
Newsweek: See You in Bible Class-
Georgia plans to teach the Good Book in schools.
Fresh from a bruising federal court fight over the teaching of evolution, Georgia marched back into the culture wars last week when Gov. Sonny Perdue signed a bill allowing Bible classes in public high schools. An estimated 8 percent of the nation's schools offer some form of Bible study. But the Georgia law is the first to set statewide guidelines and earmark public dollars for a Bible course. Five other states are considering similar measures. Georgia's school board has until February 2007 to decide how the courses should be taught, and forces on both sides of the issue are bracing for a messy battle...
The right, of course, wants to make this a 'culture war' issue, when it's really a constitutional one.
And is it a coincidence that this pro-theocratic movement by the religious right to force its way into all aspects of public life (anti-evolution movements in schools, 10 commandments in courthouses, gay marriage bans, prayer and Bible courses in schools, deciding what's morality for everyone, etc) has become so powerful in the last 5 years? Nope. The Bush White House and the Delay/Frist Congress opened the door for all of this. Ohh sure, they'll publicly pretend to distance themselves from the more radical members of the movement, but the religious right and the Republican party are increasingly one and the same. Just ask John McCain.
Just another reason to pray for a change in Congress this Fall.
posted by BlueDuck @ 8:46 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
All constitutional scholars and the Supreme Court have upheld the idea of a separation of church and state. Yes, the First Amendment guarantees freedom to practice religion (and I am not sure where you got the idea that I am against that), but it also- in its very first edict also prohibits an official "establishment of religion".
That is what is beginning to happen in this country. For instance, teaching a Bible course in a public school does amount to making Christianity an official state religion. If this were a private school or the class was elective or there were classes for every religious text (Torah, Koran, etc), then there's less of a problem. But none of those are the case. This combined with other efforts by the religious right- putting Ten Commandments in courthouses, prayer in public schools, teaching Christian creationism as science, attempting to legislate morality, etc- to push their religious beliefs into all aspects of government and public life.
That is unconstitutional according to the First Amendment.
If these same efforts were being undertaken by Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, or any other religious community, you would not defend it. One thing that makes this country so much better than others (like many in the Middle East) is that religion and government are not intertwined. There are some on the right who want to change that.
We respect the rights of all religions in America to live and worship as they see fit without fear of persecution. We also accept that there should be a healthy wall between the church and the state to protect the integrity of both institutions.
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