Separation of Church and State: Why Religious Liberty Must Be Upheld

"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only and not opinions, 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 eternal separation between Church & State."-Thomas Jefferson, Letter to the Danbury Baptists, January 1, 1802

Jefferson, like the other Founding Fathers, had seen evidence of what happened when the Church and State were intertwined from his experiences with European nations, as well as the American colonies. In his letter that defended the rights of the Baptists in Danbury, Jefferson acknowledged that religious freedom was dependent on the state refusing to interfere. Sadly, many today use the Founding Fathers' own words on religion to try to deny others the religious liberty that the Founders themselves advocated so strongly for.

I personally have no objection to voluntary prayer on the part of students in a public school, or some type of neutral curriculum that teaches about the Bible without teaching doctrinal beliefs. I'm a Christian myself. However, some fundamentalist Christians want to take things several steps further by denying the Establishment Clause in the Constitution, teaching that our nation was founded strictly on Biblical law, and essentially believing that only Christians with certain beliefs are entitled to hold public office. As a free country, we can appreciate the fact that people have the right to express these beliefs. However, ideas do have consequences. Many well-meaning conservative Christians are unfortunately partially taken in by these extremist arguments due to open hostility towards religion becoming more popular.

Here are a few examples of things that have happened in history that clearly show why Church and State should not be mixed:

Anabaptists in 16th century Europe were persecuted by Protestant and Catholic alike. The Anabaptists were the predecessors to today's Mennonites, Hutterites, and Amish. They were persecuted largely because their theological beliefs were seen as threats to the stability of several European nations.

Huguenots, or French Calvinists, were heavily persecuted in 16th century France. Bloody civil wars helped fuel the fires. Many sought and found refuge in the American colonies. Other persecuted religious minorities who found refuge in the American colonies included Quakers, Baptists, and Catholics.

During a dark period in American history, Puritan Christians in Massachusetts used the force of civil law and accusations of witchcraft to execute 15 people. This was permissible at the time due to religious leaders having so much influence. In spite of the fact they had experienced persecution themselves, they didn't feel the need to extend religious freedom to others.

Members of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) fleeing persecution themselves in the 1800's settled in Utah where their religion's leader, Brigham Young, governed the state as a theocracy. This eventually lead to intervention on the part of the U.S. military.

History has shown that religious groups who have the power to use the government against opponents often become persecutors. Sometimes, the persecuted become oppressors themselves. If we don't want to see history keep repeating itself, it's necessary to respect the legitimate rights of others we may not agree with. That way, we'll be able to retain our own rights.