I am about due for another post about religion and its place in society. By society I am referring to the United States. You can consider this to be a precursor to that particular post because I am due to take my afternoon siesta now, but before I do here are some thoughts.
Some people like to claim that religion is the foundation for all that is good in the world. I disagree. You don’t have to be religious to be a moral person.
When discussing the separation of church and state some people try to prove their point by claiming that the Constitution doesn’t speak about this. They’ll say that no where in the Constitution does it say anything of the sort.
My response to them is simple. There are a lot of things that aren’t in the Constitution. For example you won’t find anything about speeding tickets or tickets received for running red lights. Lack of inclusion is not indicative of the validity of something.
Anyway, that is the general idea. If you have any thoughts you want to share now feel free to do so.
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But the agenda of many who tout the separation is exactly that.
That is why I try to hit the middle ground. It is a place that we seem to be missing.
There doesn’t always have to be right and wrong, good and bad. On some issues we can choose the in between and not feel like we have compromised ourselves.
I agree that separation of church and state does not equal the removal of religion from daily life.
But the agenda of many who tout the separation is exactly that.
And please, don’t equivocate barbarism with religion. It aint blasphemous but it is pretty close.
fluteplayer, it depends on how you define moral behavior and morality.
Where do chimps get their behavior from….they for the most part get along very well with their tribechimps. I did a post on this.
If I wanted to live in a society that removes religion from daily life, I would move to China.
Separation of church and state does not equal the complete removal of religion from daily life. Observant Jews daven (pray) 3x day, offer blessings and thanks before and after meals and that is an incomplete list. The point is that sep. of church and state doesn’t prevent any of that.
Beaj,
Well said. That was a good email.
Debbie,
I hear what you are saying. Special rights aren’t needed. When they enforce the law there aren’t any problems.
FP,
I think that we can agree that there are some areas in which moral absolutes are necessary. But I am not sure that this is necessary in all situations.
Mark,
He’ll be coming round any time now.
Where’s Mikem?
I really want to know what he thinks.
:oP>
Is it possible to have “moral behavior” without moral absolutes?
No you don’t have to be religious to be moral. No separation of church and state is not in the constitution, but a state sponsored religion would be wrong for the United States. I think that is understood by most folks, even Christians.
Like bigwhitehat, I’m thankful for my relationship with God and Jesus Christ. But I would never want to force that religion on anyone else.
Government should give NO SPECIAL TREATMENT to any religion. This is where I am against what’s happening to Islam inside the United States.
The US is giving them special rights out of … I don’t know, fear? It sucks.
Bigwhitehat, you need a secular government and separation of church and state to have true freedom of religion. If you want to live in a land that doesn’t separate church and state, move to an Islamic country.
Jack, I posted a funny email here.
Yes, we all know that the phrase “separation of church and state” came from T.Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists. But that is not the point.
The objection to the use of this phrase in jurisprudence is that it is cited as if it were part of the constitution.
Also, the applications of the separation are far different than the context of Jefferson’s letter. He was guaranteeing our freedom of religion. He was not instituting an anti religious bias in government.
I personally value my relationship with the almighty far more than I value religion. But moral standards in a society come from somewhere. Religions (with a few exceptions) are good at defining standards by which we can live with one another.
Good governance protects religion from bad government. Our founding documents are full of references to scripture and Blackstone & Locke’s commentary on natural law revealed in scripture. I respect that heritage.
If I wanted to live in a society that removes religion from daily life, I would move to China.