Church vs. State
Church vs. State One of the most controversial points that is being debated in America today is the argument of church vs. state. Some people strongly believe that “In God We Trust” should be removed from the dollar bill, and “One nation under God” should be removed from the pledge of allegiance, because they feel that that is like forcing a certain faith upon people in a free country. Others strongly believe that we should keep those sayings on the money and in the pledge because it’s sticking to what America’s founding fathers believed and wanted. It is evident that this topic is hotly debated, but it is not yet evident which side is right.
Pros
Many Americans today, including President Obama, are pro-separating church and state. They believe, as mentioned before, that including “In God We Trust” on the dollar bill and “One nation under God” in the pledge of allegiance is forcing Christianity on people in a country that is supposedly known for having religious freedom. They believe that, if America stands for religious freedom, there shouldn’t be anything pertaining to any specific religion on anything issued by the government (i.e.- money). President Obama is one of the biggest endorsers of separating church and state. He said, in an interview with CBN:
I think it would be helpful to remember the critical role that the separation of church and state has played in preserving not only our democracy but also our religious practice. Folks tend to forget that during our founding, it wasn’t the atheists or the civil libertarians who were the most effective champions of the First Amendment. It was the persecuted minorities, it was Baptists like John Leland who didn’t want the established churches to impose their views on folks who were getting happy out in the fields and teaching the scripture to slaves.
It was the forbearers of Evangelicals who were the most adamant about not mingling government with religious, because they didn’t want state-sponsored
Pros
Many Americans today, including President Obama, are pro-separating church and state. They believe, as mentioned before, that including “In God We Trust” on the dollar bill and “One nation under God” in the pledge of allegiance is forcing Christianity on people in a country that is supposedly known for having religious freedom. They believe that, if America stands for religious freedom, there shouldn’t be anything pertaining to any specific religion on anything issued by the government (i.e.- money). President Obama is one of the biggest endorsers of separating church and state. He said, in an interview with CBN:
I think it would be helpful to remember the critical role that the separation of church and state has played in preserving not only our democracy but also our religious practice. Folks tend to forget that during our founding, it wasn’t the atheists or the civil libertarians who were the most effective champions of the First Amendment. It was the persecuted minorities, it was Baptists like John Leland who didn’t want the established churches to impose their views on folks who were getting happy out in the fields and teaching the scripture to slaves.
It was the forbearers of Evangelicals who were the most adamant about not mingling government with religious, because they didn’t want state-sponsored
Cited: Carter, Stephen L. God 's Name In Vain. Basic Books, 2000. Print. "Did the founding fathers support a separation of church and state?." ProCon.org. N.p., 28 2011. Web. 16 Dec 2012. <http://undergod.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=001358>. El-Faizy, Monique. God and Country. New York, NY: Bloomsbury USA, 2006. Print. Hedges, Chris. American Fascists. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2006. Print. Kennedy, D. James. What If America Were A Christian Nation Again?. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2003. Print. Kramnick, Isaac, and R. Laurence Moore. The Godless Constitution. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1996. Print. Smith, Gary Scott. Faith & The Presidency. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc, 2006. Print. Wuthnow, Robert. Christianity in the 21st Century. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc, 1993. Print.