Wall Of Separation Between Church And State Essay
“There should be a wall of separation between church and state”
I believe in the wall of separation as originally intended, as a reference describing our First Amendment right of freedoms not prescribed by government. The term “wall of separation” first came about with Jefferson’s response letter to the Danbury Association in 1802. The letter was in regards to why he would not declare national days of fasting and thanksgiving as done by Washington and Adams before him. In the letter Jefferson brings up that in our Constitution First Amendment prohibits the government from creating any laws of religion or establishing religion, which is where Jefferson describes this as the “wall of separation” that lead to the Establishment Clause. An issue we get trapped by is the interpretation of the Constitution. If we were to change anything today, it should be to “religion and state” opposed to “church and state”.
The Establishment Clause was written by congressman Fisher Ames in 1789. The first part of the clause states that the government cannot make laws of …show more content…
It started with the Cantwell v. Connecticut case and then the Everson V. Board of Education 1947. The Supreme Court applied the Establishment Clause and the courts have been reinterpreting the Constitution ever since and has regularly ruled on religious issues. As this continues to happen we get further and further away from the intended meaning of our First Amendment right and courts have been using the Fourteenth Amendment (due process) to use its authority on religious issues. This has brought up changes like no prayers at graduation, no moment of silence in schools, no religious figures/symbols on public property. Essentially the courts rule in a way that “guarantee the freedom from religion, instead of the freedom of
I believe in the wall of separation as originally intended, as a reference describing our First Amendment right of freedoms not prescribed by government. The term “wall of separation” first came about with Jefferson’s response letter to the Danbury Association in 1802. The letter was in regards to why he would not declare national days of fasting and thanksgiving as done by Washington and Adams before him. In the letter Jefferson brings up that in our Constitution First Amendment prohibits the government from creating any laws of religion or establishing religion, which is where Jefferson describes this as the “wall of separation” that lead to the Establishment Clause. An issue we get trapped by is the interpretation of the Constitution. If we were to change anything today, it should be to “religion and state” opposed to “church and state”.
The Establishment Clause was written by congressman Fisher Ames in 1789. The first part of the clause states that the government cannot make laws of …show more content…
It started with the Cantwell v. Connecticut case and then the Everson V. Board of Education 1947. The Supreme Court applied the Establishment Clause and the courts have been reinterpreting the Constitution ever since and has regularly ruled on religious issues. As this continues to happen we get further and further away from the intended meaning of our First Amendment right and courts have been using the Fourteenth Amendment (due process) to use its authority on religious issues. This has brought up changes like no prayers at graduation, no moment of silence in schools, no religious figures/symbols on public property. Essentially the courts rule in a way that “guarantee the freedom from religion, instead of the freedom of