Does our country constantly contradict itself?

Sunday, October 21, 2007

How can we STOP the debate?: My Theory

As I have stated many times before, the issue over the separation of church and state has been debated for more that 50 years. This article talks about this issue extensively. I believe that this is good in getting a feel for this issue and it's history. Seeing the article, it is clear to see that this has been an issue for a long while, so what is needed to bring an end to the debate? My theory on answering this question is that all America needs to do is come to an understanding. By understanding, I mean that everyone has to realize that realistically we can't make everyone happy, but we can basically "agree to disagree." Religion can never be totally "erased" from our government because our country was built by those with religious beliefs and this can be seen in everyday items such as coins. At the same time though, with immigration increasing as the years go by, so will the diversity of religious practices. Because of this, there is no way that the government can force one religion onto the country and this includes prayer in public schools which has become a major part of the debate. This issue was addressed in a previous blog, but to summarize, prayer isn't BANNED from public schools, but it is simply not FORCED onto children.

Along with coming to an understanding, the government has to also take a definite stand on the issue. Often times, it says one thing, but then practices something totally different. By this I mean, our government constantly says that there isn't any religious references within it, but when catastrophes happen such as 9/11, government officials always seem to mention a reference to "God." Also, "God" is still being put in legal documents such as the U.S. codes which were written in 2006. With these contradictory positions on the issue, there is no way the debate can ever be resolved, unless they come to an end and the government becomes consistent with it's position on the debate.

4 comments:

bloggirl said...

I totally agree with what you are saying. It is impossible to make everyone happy. Whether or not there is a separation between chruch and state people are still going to find a reason to complain.

Elizabeth said...

I like all of your points, but in fact the country was not founded on Christian ideology but rather deist. Since that time protestantism has been the religion of the government. This is something that is so deep rooted in the American system that change, especially drastic change, is going to be hard to come by. The Pledge of Allegiance will not change will it? Some of the main government buildings have scenes from the Bible carved into them. Christianity within the American government will not change, perhaps the only plausible thing to do would be except it but make sure that no religion is discriminated against but allow things to carry on as they have and as they will. The separation of the Church and State will not be a clean break.

Vilese11 said...

This is a response to bloggirl. Thank you for your comment and you are completely right when you say that it is impossible to make everyone happy. Our country is too diverse to make all the people within it satisfied so I think we should just come to some kind of understanding.

Vilese11 said...

In response to Elizabeth. Thank you for letting me know about the deist ideals which I just figured out. Like you, I am still learning much about this subject. I agree that Christianity can never be fully erased from our heritage as a country and that we will have to just accept other religions as our country continues to grow.