The Separation of Church and State in America Essay -- Religion Politi

"Prayer has been banished from schools and the ACLU rampages to remove â€Å"under God† from the Pledge of Allegiance. Moreover, â€Å"Separation of Church and State† is nowhere found in the Constitution or any other founding legislation. Our forefathers would never countenance the restrictions on religion exacted today." -- Bill Flax, Forbes, 2011 Church and State seem to be two words which are entirely inseparable from each other. Religion in politics and the government has been present since the federal government was first put into place. The issue of religion is present in such varied topics as the public school system, presidential elections, right down to the National Anthem. The fact of the matter is, Church and State are very far from being separate in the United States. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." These opening words of the First Amendment of the Constitution set forth a guarantee of religious freedom in the United States. The Establishment clause was intended to accomplish this end by, in the words of Thomas Jefferson, creating a "wall of separation between Church and State." The First Amendment prevented the government from interfering in it's citizens religious lives. It did not, however, prevent the federal government from engaging in it's own. The Fourteenth Amendment, Ratified in 1868, states that "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the Unites States; nor shall any State depri... ...urch and State may be an unattainable goal. But as long as the Church and State have anything to do with one another, the struggle will continue. Bibliography: Flax, Bill. "The True Meaning of Separation of Church and State", July 9, Forbes, 2011 Web. 15 May 2015 http://www.forbes.com/sites/billflax/2011/07/09/the-true-meaning-of-separation-of-church-and-state/ Goldberg, George. Church, State, and the Constitution. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Gateway, 2014. Mueller, Arnold C. "Religion in the Public Schools." In Church and State Under God, ed. Albert G. Huegli. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2004. Lopatto, Paul. Religion and the Presidential Election. Edited by Gerald M. Pomper. New York: Praeger, 2014. Spiritual Answers Online, Church and State, Web. 15 May 2015 http://www.spiritual-answers.com/Questions/church_and_state.htm