Building a Wall of Separation Between Church and State

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Building a Wall of Separation Between Church and State By Expert Author: Lindsey Malberg
View Summary \| Submitted: 2008-08-23 \| Word Count: 507 words

Now for a little history quiz. Where are the words, "separation of Church and State" in the Constitution? Are they in one of the articles or in one of the Bill of Rights amendments? Wrong! The phrase is not in any article of the Constitution, and it is not in the Bill of Rights either. A lot of laws and debates have been spawned by the first 16 words of the First Amendment to the Constitution, which read, "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.”

When Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptists on January 1, 1802, he originated the often repeated phrase "separation of Church and State.” The letter talks of the first amendment and then continues with Jefferson saying, "...thus building a wall of separation between Church and State." So even if you've heard that term before, it's being misquoted.

It was the original intent of the First Amendment to protect citizens' rights to freedom of religious beliefs and their expression, as well as to protect the government from the undue influence of religion. The portion of the amendment which states its intent has been lost or forgotten.

Stories abound about the uneven application of the First Amendment. While book reports on Harry Potter, a story about the religion of witchcraft, are accepted, Christian students are not allowed to do their book reports on the Bible. Also, teachers are forbidden to take their private Bibles to school. While these stories cannot be verified, there is a similar story called "The Sneeze."

In May 2001, prayer was prohibited at the graduation ceremony of Washington Community High School because of a temporary restraining order prohibiting prayer. As he walked toward the podium where he would give his speech, graduate Ryan Brown paused. The crowd cheered and applauded him as he appeared to pray silently. To bring God to the ceremony, Ryan deliberately sneezed during his speech and many students shouted, "God bless you!" On May 21, 2001, the Chicago Tribune reported the story.

To comply with the separation requirements of the First Amendment, many valuable traditions must be cast aside and this disturbs me. After my research for this article, I can better understand why the Founding Fathers wanted to be sure that government agencies could not become a tool of any religion. I can imagine what it would be like to be in the religious minority and be required to participate in rituals that are not my own. As a Christian, I would not be willing to swear on the Quran in court. It is understandable that a Muslim would not want to swear on the Bible.

On the government Archives and Library of Congress website, there is much history available. We live in a time when our heritage is easily available over the internet, which makes us very fortunate.

About the Author/Author Bio

As a legal secretary, Lindsey Malberg has always been fascinated with law, especially laws stemming from the Constitution. She researches many topics, using legal tabs to keep track of key phrases and important information she needs to remember. She also uses other legal exhibit tabs from her local Qwik Tabs to ensure she will never lose any information or paperwork.

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