Church and State were never intended to mix. What a group of people decide to believe in is their right. However, they don't have the right to force people to believe in their beliefs. That's what makes the USA special. People come here for opportunity, or should I say used to come here for opportunity. This is not the country my grandparents fled to with hope and determination.
In 1802, President Jefferson wrote a letter to a group of Baptists in Danbury, Connecticut, in which he declared that it was the purpose of the First Amendment to build “a wall of separation between Church and State.”15 In Reynolds v. United States,16 Chief Justice Waite for the Court characterized the phrase as “almost an authoritative declaration of the scope and effect of the amendment.” In its first encounters with religion–based challenges to state programs, the Court looked to Jefferson’s metaphor for substantial guidance.17 But a metaphor may obscure as well as illuminate, and the Court soon began to emphasize neutrality and voluntarism as the standard of restraint on governmental action.18 [p.973]The concept of neutrality itself is “a coat of many colors,”19 and three standards that could be stated in objective fashion emerged as tests of Establishment Clause validity. The first two standards were part of the same formulation. “The test may be stated as follows: what are the purpose and the primary effect of the enactment? If either is the advancement or inhibition of religion then the enactment exceeds the scope of legislative power as circumscribed by the Constitution. That is to say that to withstand the strictures of the Establishment Clause there must be a secular legislative purpose and a primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion.”20 The third test is whether the governmental program results in “an excessive government entanglement with religion. The test is inescapably one of degree . . . [T]he questions are whether the involvement is excessive, and whether it is a continuing one calling for official and continuing surveillance leading to an impermissible degree of entanglement.”21 In 1971 these three tests were combined and restated in Chief Justice Burger’s opinion for the Court in Lemon v. Kurtzman,22 and are frequently referred to by reference to that case name. On Sep 18, 10:06 pm, "Vox Itar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Thu, Sep 18, 2008 at 9:15 PM, You Can't Buy MI Water > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote: > > > > > I feel dumb having to explain this to you... The problem is: No one > > has ever told anyone that they CANNOT pray in schools, or address > > "god" as their creator, or believe that the world is fucking flat. But > > there is a large faction that wishes to FORCE unwilling persons into > > participating in these rituals and FORCE them to buy into narrow > > minded ideologies and philosophies. The only other choice they leave > > is to be FORCED into be labeled a deviant and a heretic. > > And I feel equally dumb having to explain this to you...the topic was > whether or not the Constitution said anything about "separation of church > and state." As anyone who actually bothers to read the Constitution knows, > there is NOTHING in it about separating church from state. Furthermore, > while I respect anyone's desire NOT to participate in prayer, you don't have > a Constitutional right NOT to be offended in this country. What that means > is that if you find yourself in the audience at a graduation ceremony and > part of it includes a prayer, what you can do is get up and leave, and let > the rest of us who are part of the Judeo-Christian ethic that founded this > country participate in the longstanding traditions that have defined our > American culture for 200+ years. And no, sorry, but the choice isn't only > your paranoid statement "be labeled a deviant and a heretic." No one is > FORCING you to pray. No one is even FORCING you to be there. If you truly > are offended by the idea of faith in God, might I suggest you send me all > the currency in your wallet. you know, the bills that have "IN GOD WE TRUST" > printed across the top? I'll put it to good use, I promise. > > This statement does NOT exist ANYWHERE in the Constitution: > > "Separation of Church and State" --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
