The First Amendment is the root of this entire debate. Many that read this amendment get confused over the true meaning of it. Some believe it states that there should be no religious references in politics or in the government. However, the true meaning of the amendment is that everyone is free to worship as they want to. This confusion "scratches" just the surface of this debate. When looking deeper into the issue, it's found that many also believe that the words "separation of church and state" actually appear in the Constitution when they actually do not. The fact that they do not appear, makes many believe that there doesn't have to be a separation. On the other hand, many still believe that there still should always be a separation because everyone is free to their own religion and/or beliefs.
Those on the side for the separation of church and state are usually liberalists and many of them are those that are known for "bashing" Christians. A detailed description of their side of the issue can be seen in this article. In the article, you can see how many on this side of the issue are those who aren't Christians and some may be atheists. Don't be mistaken into thinking that these are the only people for the separation of church and state ,but those groups will be discussed later on in the blog. Those that are on this extreme side of the debate believe that there shouldn't be any kind of reference to God in any public places such as school and government. In fact, there was once a time when prayer was allowed in public schools, but in 1962, this was banned from schools along with bible reading. Many fight for the removal of all religious references in Government for the fear of our country possibly establishing an official religious practice.
Although there are these radical groups that are known for "bashing" Christians, there are groups that support separation of church and state that have basis on the fact that having religion influencing the government is unconstitutional. One such group is DefCon. This groups purpose is to speak about how religion shouldn't be FORCED onto people and everyone has a right to practice as the want. Another such group is "Americans United for the Separation of Church and State". This group of people are more active and are often involved in many government proceedings and issues dealing with religion and it's possible influence. Many of their issues are laid out here. On this page, you will find that they have broken down where they would like the separation to be and how they want it to be. Like the DefCon group, they are less radical than the "Christian hating" opposers and simply want everybody's right to practice freely respected.
The total opposite side of this debate are those people who are the "radical" christians. These Christians are known for their ultraconservative views. They want relgious control over everything from the government to public schools. If you want to read about such christians, you can visit these two sites. Both of those sites have links that you can click on to read about their ways and their beliefs. As you will see, they are very "extreme" on their thoughts of how America should be run and their thought on the fate of America. As a student of UNC-Chapel Hill I have witnessed their preachings. Often times, they speak about how America is "doomed" to hell because of it's acceptance of homosexuality, fornication, etc. These issues are all brought up with the subject of separation of church and state because, for instance, gay marriage is something that is regulated by the government, but it hasn't become nationally legalized mainly because of religious views. These groups are very conservative and, like the extreme liberalists, they are often frowned upon by many Americans that aren't apart of these groups.
So, what's my position on this whole topic? Well personally I believe that there can never really be total separation of church and state for several reasons. The first thing that pops to my mind is the pledge of allegience. As you can see, it clearly states "under God." I'm not necessarily saying that it has a Christian reference specifically but it does have some kind of religious reference. It wouldn't be a big deal if it wasn't required by many states to recite this in school but as seen here, it is required in many states. Although prayer isn't allowed in schools, it's easy to see that there is still some kind of religous reference in our public schools. References to "God" can also be seen in many legal documents such as the U.S. Codes. On this website you can see an actual breakdown of the number of times that it is mentioned. This fact proves that there are still religious references in government. Another point to my position is the use of "In God We Trust" on coins. In the link provided, it talks about the origin of the statement and why it was put on the coin. This has also given rise to another debate on whether it should be on the coins. On the particular website given, it shows the pros and cons of having it remaining on the coins. There are even more examples such as having to place your hand on the bible in court, and the president having to say "so help me God". If you want to read about this you can visit these sites. There is so much more to say on why I believe there can never be true separation of church and state but that would be an endless blog. So if you would like to read someone else's view on this, you can visit the following blogs:
http://www.samefacts.com/archives/policy_briefs_/2007/03/separation_of_church_and_state.php
http://fairlane.wordpress.com/2007/07/01/the-separation-of-church-and-state/
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