More and more in our society, religion is popping its head up and finding it’s way into the news. Often it is about what has been called the separation of church and state, a phrase never once used in the Constitution or any Amendment. What the first Amendment does say is:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Over time, and thanks to a letter written by Thomas Jefferson, that has become “separation of church and state”. And now, as often as ever, it is becoming a fairly popular topic in our country. Debates rage over prayer in school, the Ten Commandment is courthouses, “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance.

What a person believes is between that person and their God, if they have faith. But what one person believes in is not for all. When the Pledge of Allegiance is spoken at a public school, God should be left out. When you are at a courthouse, a building that is government, God should be left out.

As far as prayer in schools is concerned, I am alright with it, as long as it is not forced. If several students would like to gather to pray together on their own time and not in a fashion that infringes on others, then they should be allowed. If the school has a five minute “prayer time” for everyone, I would be against that.

These are just some of the places where religion is finding its way into all of our lives. More importantly is where its place is in our justice system. Last I looked, only two of the Ten Commandments were actually laws. Thou shalt no kill (or murder), and thou shalt not steal (some states still have adultery as officially illegal, although almost never enforced). The other eight are religious moral values that should be obeyed. So to create or run a system of justice based on these ten statements would be a poor way to run state. Our justice system should be defined by those who make up the population of which we all live, not by the belief system of a percentage of those who live amongst us.

Where religion fits into our society is a complicated proposition. For many people in this country, it is a major part of their life. According to the First Amendment, everyone has a right to partake in their own religion, or to not partake in any. Former President and founding father Thomas Jefferson once said:

“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his god, [the people, in the 1st Amendment,] 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 and state.”

This is the basis for the phrase “separation of church and state”, but more importantly in that passage to me is the part about religion being between a man and his God. In our society, it was meant that religion be a private matter. You go to church, you pray with you family, and you keep it between yourself and God. This is not the words of me; it’s the words of Thomas Jefferson.

For the most part, our society is highly tolerant of other people’s religions on a person to person level. But do you think that an atheist would ever be elected President? Absolutely not. While it should not be anyone’s business what you believe, the people will want to know and they will judge you accordingly. Candidates now push their religion on voters because to not be religious is to not have a chance. I understand that the other side of that argument is that if the country’s voting population wants a Christian President, that’s up to them. True. But, the overall point of that argument is that you have no choice but to be judged on your religious beliefs. Being President, or holding any elected office for that matter, should be based solely on you qualifications to do the duty of that job, not your personal beliefs. To be on the Supreme Court is to interpret the Constitution, not impose your beliefs on the case at hand. Potential Supreme Court Justices are judged not necessarily by their history as a judge, but on their personal beliefs and how they will determine in what way cases are ruled. People’s personal beliefs are taking precedent over how well they will do their duty. And even more alarmingly, some people’s personal beliefs are dictating how they will do their duty.
The idea that religion should be between a person and their God is no longer possible. In today’s world of politics, it’s no longer about what is right, but more about what will please my donors and backers. From arguments on abortion, stem cell research and same-sex marriage, religion is becoming more and more abundant in political debates.

Conservatives, who tend to lean far more to the Christian side, have taken strong stances against these issues, based on their religious beliefs. The fact that there is talk of a Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage is proof of religion and politics meeting at an intersection. In a society that prides itself of freedom, we want to essentially tell a portion of our people, “you can’t do what the rest of us can”.

People want to forget that this country’s Declaration of Independence specifically says that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, which among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. When debates raged about women’s rights, and civil rights, all men being created equal was the basis. But with gay rights, apparently the Bible takes precedent. If we want all citizens of this great country to be equal, then they must all be treated equally. If two people engage in a same-sex marriage, does it really affect anyone else? Your own personal peace of mind can not be more important than another citizen’s freedoms.

If we want to continue to be the county that we were born as, this discussion needs to be settled. The majority of this country identifies themselves as being part of a religion, be it Christian, Jewish, Muslim or anything else, with by far the majority of those being Christians. But we can’t forget that despite what the man on TV keeps telling you, majority doesn’t rule in this country. The popular vote does not select the President for a good reason. If you allow majority rule, the rules can them become very unfair. The majority of this nation is Caucasian. Are we a white nation? No. Just as we are not a Christian nation despite its majority. The American government was created brilliantly by one of the most gifted generations of thinkers in human history. To say that it was created to be a Christian nation, or that the majority should rule on all issues is an insult to the brilliance of the republican government that our forefathers created.

The examination of these topics is now more prevalent and important than ever. We must come to the right solution or there will be generations that pay dearly. These issues are not about what is right for us as individuals. They are about what is right. There is a right and wrong, and we will seek to find it.

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