It is not unconstitutional as separation of church and state was not in the constitution but was a phrase Jefferson used to understanding the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution that says: "Congress shall make no law respecting and establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise of..." It goes alone with freedom of speech but itself was not put into the U.S. Constitution and Jefferson in this letter didn't mean it the way it is being used by these ppl today to bully and infringe upon a person's right to exercise freedom of religion. The intent of this clause was to limit the power of the Federal Government in regard to religion thus ensuring freedom of religion in the United States of America.
The phrase "separation of church and state" is generally traced to a January 1, 1802 letter by Thomas Jefferson, addressed to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut, and published in a Massachusetts newspaper. Jefferson wrote, "I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.
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So why do so many Christians object to sharia law? Don't you want Muslims to have freedom of religion?
You're right, it was a stupid question.
itself was not put into the U.S. Constitution
The only way not to understand "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ..." as a "wall of separation between Church & State" is to deliberately not want to understand it against better judgement, i.e. lying for Jesus.
You have freedom of religion. You do not have the freedom to impose it upon others. Now here's the hard part, so listen closely: You have a choice, and I have a choice. When we meet in the public space, CIVIL law governs our transactions with each other, not the rules of your church. If you are providing a service to the public at large, WE are that public. ALL of us. You must accommodate all. That's your job. If you work for the government, WE are that government. ALL of us. You must serve all. That's your job.
Pretty simple, really - you just have to accept the fact that your religion has its limits. Respect the boundaries.
The words separation of church and state were not in the constitution, that is correct. However in order to provide a free exercise of religion, all religion the state can't be effected by religion, any religion. When any religion is allowed to effect the government other religions no longer have the option of free exercise because they have to follow the rules of another religion.
Seperation of church and state is a commonsense conclusion to the first amendment.
Then why are you lot so opposed to ISIS?
...aye, there's the rub.
Islam has tax-exemption in the US, you know. If you want to make something of that, there's the little matter of you fundie Christians saying that yours 'Isn't a religion, but is a personal relationship with Jesus'.
In which case, what the IRS would do to you lot, would make ISIS as inoffensive as the Quakers or Unitarian Universalists.
'Separation of Church and State' means exactly that: while the government can't tell the religious who/how to worship (PROTIP: The Church of $cientology - as tax-exempt as Islam - worship L. Ron Hubbard. Therefore he = your God, and you fundies don't have the right to think otherwise, as per 'Teach the Controversy'), you lot don't have the right to tell the government how to run the country. Because religion has no right to exist in US politics.
...ergo your objections to ISIS.
Any lawyer or judge is well aware of the actual wording of the First Amendment. Like all rights, there are limits. For example, you can't claim freedom of speech in order slander or defraud someone, perjure yourself in court, threaten someone, hire someone to commit a crime, pose as a doctor or lawyer or solicit a minor for sex. And you can't claim free exercise of religion in order to engage in virgin sacrifice, have sex with children or anything else that violates common law. And if you are a public employee working as a representative of the government, you can't do anything that violates the Establishment Clause, because you would then be causing the government itself as its representative to exceed "power of the Federal Government (and state governments, under the 14th Amendment) in regard to religion".
"It is not unconstitutional as separation of church and state was not in the constitution"
Show me where Jesus, bible or Christian appear in the constitution.
"Separation of church and state" isn't in the Constitution, but separation of church and state sure as hell is.
Seriously, you just flat out said Jefferson used "separation of church and state" to explain what the First Amendment meant.
What is so hard for fundies to understand about a very, very simple comment that begins with an equally simple, explicit, and understandable phrase, "Congress shall make NO law..."?
No law. None. Religion is a personal matter, not a government matter - and it's hypocritical, if the author of this shit claims to believe in small government, that s/he would want for political leaders to allocate even a single cent to test citizens' religious affiliations. Those are not the government's business.
So the Bible must be taken literally, but the US Constitution is so open to interpretation that a very simple and easy to understand comment such as "Congress shall make NO law..." is somehow difficult for them to understand and impossible to accept without their going through a host of mental gymnastics.
A person's religion is NOT the government's business.
To exercise freedom of religion means that your religion dictates your life. Everyone else have the same right to let their religion dictate their lives, so no-one has the right to infringe on other people's freedom of/from religion.
If you want to enjoy freedom of religion, you have to help fight for the right for everyone else to have freedom of religion, too. It's an ongoing battle, which we all have to take part in, or there will be no freedoms for anyone.
I had to go have a look to see what Josey was railing against which was this
“It is unconstitutional for a public school to take students on a field trip to a religious venue such as the Creation Museum, a Christian museum which promotes the religious doctrine of creationism and lists is mission as to point today’s culture back to the authority of Scripture and proclaim the gospel message,'” the letters read.
As a kid I would have loved to have been taken on a trip to the creation museum - nothing like some good old-fashioned comedy to cheer a child up.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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