COLUMN: Separation of church and state a constitutional triumph
With the recent passing of Pope John Paul II, as well as the semi-annual, televised celebration of the LDS conference, it is obvious that the people of our nation have a vibrant and diverse spirituality. A person only has to turn on the television or look around campus to see that each person worships differently and his or her faith cannot be governed. This can be attributed to the great constitutional success known as the “separation of church and state.”
This separation has been under attack. People of faith, although well intentioned, feel that our country could be improved by infusing their religion with our government. President Bush, a self-boasting man of faith, has given government money to various Christian churches, like the Moonies to help promote healthy heterosexual marriage,s and the Greater Exodus Baptist Church to fight global AIDS through abstinence-only education. These propositions are irresponsible, studies show they are ineffective and they are corrupting both the churches involved and the government.
The “wall between church and state” that Thomas Jefferson envisioned should be there to serve both the government and faith. Our country, through this separation, has successfully allowed many very religious people from a myriad of religions to coexist and learn from each other. The First Amendment guarantees that government will not intervene on religion and that the government will not sponsor a religion. While the words “separation of church and state” are not written into the U.S. Constitution, neither is the word “God.” This is not an accident.
Our country was founded on the principles of freedom, equality and liberty, not Judeo-Christian values. Many argue that our nation’s forefathers were men of strong faith, and while research somewhat contradicts that claim, they understood the importance of religious freedom in our country.
Recent legislation concerning gay people, rights of women and Terri Schiavo has been of a religious nature, or at least the powering vehicle behind them is religious beliefs. When our government officials invoke “God,” this usually means that they are trying to curb our freedoms or at least stop us from questioning their authority. This is true in both cases where the word “God” is sanctioned governmentally: The words “In God We Trust” didn’t appear on our currency until the Civil War as a retaliation to the rebels, and the words “under God” in our Pledge of Allegiance were added during the Red Scare. I would argue that these were not a groundswell of divine intervention, but rather propaganda tools to gain control. When politicians or political groups begin to align themselves with the Almighty, that is the moment when we need to question them most.
The founders of the state of Utah must have known something about the importance of religious liberty. Article I section 4 of the Utah State Constitution sums it up:
“The rights of conscience shall never be infringed. The state shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office of public trust or for any vote at any election; nor shall any person be incompetent as a witness or juror on account of religious belief or the absence thereof. There shall be no union of church and state, nor shall any church dominate the State or interfere with its functions. No public money or property shall be appropriated for or applied to any religious worship, exercise or instruction, or for the support of any ecclesiastical establishment.”
In the end, governing morality will have detrimental effects on the moral fabric of our society. Once you start to govern morality and morals become the law, people cease to be moral and they solely become lawful.
Cy Martz is a senior majoring in public relations. Comments can be sent to cmartz@cc.usu.edu.