Separation of Church and State, Pt. 2- The Church Stays Out of the State

This is, of course, the counterpart to Separation of Church and State, Pt. 1- The State Stays Out of the Church.

In Pt. 1, the discussion was about the benefits of Separation of Church and State to the individual. There are also many benefits of keeping religion out of government as well, and many of these benefits are direct to the citizens.

The United States of America is a huge melting pot. Thousands of different cultures, peoples, groups, and religions are represented in the United States. Religion is something that is extremely important to many people, and the freedom to practice their own religion is a precious opportunity, and one that is denied in many other countries around the world.

The United States government is forbidden to establish an "official" religion for the country or to ban the practices of any one religion. This also means that one religion or a religious belief cannot dictate the laws and regulations for the citizens. Religious and spiritual individuals cannot and should not expect others to adhere to their beliefs if they are not shared. It would be against freedom and all that the United States stands for if it became a national requirement to attend church every Sunday, and it would not be fair to anyone.

There is a difference between being moral and being religious. It is quite possible (and very common) for one to be moral without being religious. It is also quite possible for one to be religious without being moral. Take a look at the dictionary.com definition of moral:

adjective
1. of, pertaining to, or concerned with the principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong; ethical

The interesting thing about morals, though, is that while many morals are universal (for example, it is wrong to kill another person), there are also many morals that are not universal. Many of these non-universal morals get their roots from religious beliefs. For example, in the Hindu religion, cows are considered sacred (see source). There are more than one million Hindus living in America (see source), and if their belief that cows are sacred were to be enforced as a law, that would mean no one would be allowed to eat beef. McDonald's, Wendy's, Black Angus, Outback Steakhouse, and many other businesses would suffer if they were no longer allowed to serve hamburgers, steaks, tri-tip, and other beef products, resulting in a loss of business, loss of jobs, and so forth. Thankfully, Separation of Church and State means that the religious beliefs of any group cannot be imposed on others.

Perhaps beef may seem like a silly example, so let's look at something more serious and more mainstream: Gay rights. Most all arguments against gay rights stem back to religious beliefs. Should those who believe that homosexuality is wrong impose their beliefs on those who see nothing wrong with homosexuality? By all means, no! It is no different than the example of not being able to eat hamburgers because of the Hindu belief that cows are sacred. In fact, very few religions actually condemn gay rights or gay marriage. Americans are entitled to the "pursuit of happiness." That isn't selective- it doesn't say "straight Americans are entitled to the pursuit of happiness" or "male Americans are entitled to the pursuit of happiness," it applies to all. Why should the religious beliefs of one group dictate the actions of other people who do not belong to that group? Gay marriage would not invalidate the sanctity of straight marriage (because we all know how low the divorce rate is, right?) nor would it affect others any more than my marriage to a man affects the neighbors down the street. When two people love each other, in a country that promotes freedom and the pursuit of happiness, why should their sex matter? Religious people cannot enforce their religious beliefs on others, whether it is to stop them from eating cows or from marrying someone of the same sex. (If you want to read an interesting article, check out Newsweek's "The Religious Case for Gay Marriage". It is very interesting!)

As citizens, we share many morals with each other. It is not far-fetched to say that most everyone will agree that murder, stealing, and rape are wrong. But when the morals are individualistic and depend on one's religion, they should not be imposed on others. As long as those beliefs do not bring harm to others, then there is no reason we may not each celebrate our own morals. Live, and let live!


(On a side note- the author is a Spiritualist Christian who believes in gay rights. It is not uncommon for many Christians and people of other religions to support gay rights!)

Separation of Church and State, Pt. 1- The State Stays Out of the Church

"America was founded on Christian morals. We are a Christian country, and we should stay that way."

Many people have said this, or something similar, over the years. The problem with the statement is that it is very inaccurate. America was not founded to be a Christian nation. Most of the people who migrated over to America in the early days came for opportunity to have freedom of religion. England had established the Church of England as its official church, and many people wanted to leave the country to seek their own beliefs. (See source)

For all intents and purposes, the word "church" represents all places of religious meeting. This means that the word "church" covers temples, synagogues, etc.

What most people do not realize is that Separation of Church and State was put in place more for the benefit of the religious individuals than for the benefit of the government. Take a look at this excerpt from the Bill of Rights (it's the third Article):

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

Take a look at the first half: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." This means that the government cannot and will not establish a national or "official" religion for the United States. In the government's eyes, all religions are created equal and are therefore all equally respected. A person may do whatever their personal religion calls for, just so long as it does not impose on the freedom of others or bring harm to another. There are many laws protecting the religious rights of the individual- no one can discriminate because of religion (legally), no one can deny an individual a day off because of their religion, and so on.

Notice the second half: "Congress shall make no law... prohibiting the free exercise thereof." What this is establishing is that all citizens of the United States have the freedom to practice whatever religion or religious beliefs they so desire to, and the government is not allowed to make laws restricting which beliefs may be practiced or when. (Of course, this is as long as those beliefs do not oppress or impose on the freedom of others or bring harm to others.)

Of course, the term "religion" does not solely apply to those who follow a religion in the case of the legal rights. The Constitution also protects the rights of agnostic and atheistic individuals, and the amount of agnostic and atheistic individuals has grown over the past few decades. In some countries, people can be executed if they announce their belief that no god or higher power exists. In America, people are allowed to state what they believe or don't believe without fear of consequences from the government. (Unfortunately, there are individuals who still get taunted or abused for what they believe and don't believe, but that is from other individuals. Hopefully, we will someday learn to truly coexist and be able to have civil discussions about differences in beliefs without fear of judgment or persecution from others.)

Whether you believe in the Christian God, Zeus, Allah, or even the Flying Spaghetti Monster, you are free to worship them as you choose. If you are atheist, Buddhist, or even think that you are a god, you are free to believe that and express that. You can thank Separation of Church and State for that.

Time to Usher in a New Era?

By now, everyone has heard the about the Mayan prophecy that states the world will end December 12, 2012. (It is, by the way, a Wednesday.) Many people are skeptical of the world's supposed end coming up, and a few others have been thrown into a new view of the world because they believe the world will reach its demise in 2012. (I know, this first part will sound crazy, but read through to the end.)

The only problem is that the majority of people do not know the actual prophecy. The Mayans did not predict that the world would cease to exist in 2012, but rather they predicted that an era would end and a new one would begin. The world (figuratively, not literally) as we know it, will come to an end. Life and the world itself are not ending, but rather we, as a species, will reach a new time period. The Mayans predicted it will be a period in which we become more in tune with nature, our spirituality (our connection to the universe around us and/or our connection to a higher power), and each other. (See source.)

Humans, by nature, are repetitive and predictable, as a whole. It is not illogical to think that accurate predictions about human society can be made if they are based on facts, science, and studies of human behavior. This is what the Mayans have done. Does this mean that there is going to be some massive occurrence and everyone is going to wake up different one morning in December of 2012? By all means, no! The next major election will be in 2012, and perhaps the candidates and propositions on the ballot will be the beginning of major change and reform and usher in the new era.

With the current state of the world, this is not something that is as far-fetched as many people may think. Take a look at what's going on: The economy, current politics, the unemployment rates, a changing environment, and so on. All around us, things are happening unlike they ever have before. We live in an age of technology, of a global community, and that in itself has an effect on the changing world around us. Unlike fifty years ago, people communicate with each other at the speed of light across continents, oceans, and time zones. Many people spend more time in front of their computers than talking with others face to face. When breaking news happens, the world is aware of it within an hour, whereas before information could take days or weeks to reach the other side of the country. We have the potential to connect with others in a way history has never seen before.

People today are different than they were just a couple generations ago. Many people today have more liberal views than ever before. Today's youth has become an "I don't care about what others think" generation. Many people born in the 1980's (who will start turning 30 next year) grew up with the idea of being true to oneself and not being concerned with the judgments of others, and in turn, don't judge others. The 1980's babies (many of whom are now having babies themselves) are breaking free from old traditions and more old-fashioned ways of thinking. Many people born after 1980 are pro-choice, support gay marriage, and are not as conservative as many of their grandparents were. It's not just the under 30 crowd, though. People who grew up in the 1960's and 1970's grew up in the "hippie" era and support many of the love and human fellowship ideals still today. You would be hard-pressed to find someone born after the civil rights movement of the 1950's and 1960's who is not an egalitarian.

How does all this tie together? Well, we are on the brink of an amazing revolution. As Grover Norquist points out in his book "Leave Us Alone", most of those people who were born in 1920 will no longer be voting in 2012 elections, for obvious reasons. At the same time, people who are born in 1996 will be voting in 2012 elections. As the older generation passes on, the new generation will take over. We will experience a social evolution over the next couple of decades that has the potential of changing the face of society as we know it. The Baby Boomers are retiring, their kids are grown, they are becoming grandparents, and starting to come into their golden years. (Baby Boomers are anyone born between the years 1946 and 1964. The oldest of the Baby Boomers are now 63 and the youngest are 45.) Soon the leaders of our society will be those who were babies in the 1970's and 1980's, carrying the morals and principles of their generation.

As we see the older generation pass, the new generation will take over, and the trumping ideals will be those of the younger, more socially progressive generation. This could be a big turning point in world history, changing society as we know it. With luck and a little hard work, we have the opportunity to become a world in which everyone is treated truly equally, amicable, more tranquil, and more in tune with each other. If we take initiative, we have the power to bring about the positive changes, even as individuals. PEACE!

Where does the Government draw the lines?

The United States has always been known as "the land of the free," but freedom in this country is somewhat an illusion. Our government has control over just about everything, and there is very little we can do without good ol' Uncle Sam sticking his nose in our business.

It is nothing new that the government takes our money. We fork over a good portion of our paychecks to taxes, and yet our country is in debt. California was even handing out I.O.U.s for state tax returns this year. Each year, about 40% of our income goes to taxes (source: Why you're always broke). It is no wonder it is so hard to pay bills and save. What is worse, the government has backwards priorities when it comes to the things they do with our money. For example, California has raised prices on tuition and cut back on grants and loans for students, in many cases preventing the previous benefactors from continuing on with furthering their education. There are several problems with this: for one, education is extremely valuable and should be cherished and encouraged, not made more difficult to obtain. For another thing, none of the money that the government is getting from the increase in tuition is going back to education. Why does the government think of education as such a disposable item? How do they expect the country to be bettered and become more advanced if education is not available to all the people?

The government has a lot of rights to our money, even after taxes have been taken out. There are many cases in which the government can reach into personal bank accounts and take out money, without consent or notice to the account holder.

There are several things that the government takes a role in that they should not be able to. If it has nothing to do with safety, then the government should not be able to dictate how we live our lives. Government should have no role in religion, love, marriage, sex (other than protecting its citizens from harm), and anything else that is a personal choice. Let's look at the example of gay marriage. Regardless if you believe gay marriage is right or not, the government should have no say in whom can marry whom. We are the land of the free, yet the government feels it is okay to take away the rights of some like that? It is not equality and it is not freedom to say that one group of people can be married but not another. The government should only take charge in matters of public safety, not interfere with matters of the heart.

Recently, there has been a movement against the obesity epidemic in America, and I am all for this. However, there is a group of people who think the government should step in and control our intake and output, meaning the government would control what we eat and how much we exercise. This, frankly, is completely anti-American. Yes, I agree that people should aim to be healthy, but letting the government control this is just one more step towards the world of George Orwell's 1984, in which the government controls literally everything from food to sex and even tries to control the thoughts of its citizens. That isn't freedom, it is dictatorship. If we choose to sit on our asses in front of the television while pounding down a gallon of ice cream topped off with a slice of chocolate cake, then we should have the right to do so! People are smart enough to make their own choices, and taking away the right to choose is an insult to our intelligence. Yes, there are people out there who need a little extra help, but they cannot and should not be forced to change if they do not want to. They should be given the resources they need to educate themselves and be allowed access to help if they choose to take it, but the government has no right to make the choices for us.

Abortion is another hot-button issue that the government should not have any say in as well. I'll tell you honestly that I am against abortion, but not against a woman's right to choose. I feel strongly that abortion should be a last-resort thing when there are no other options or when the pregnancy is potentially harmful to the mother, but a woman has the right to choose. It is her body, it is her choice. If the government makes abortion illegal, then they are putting many of its citizens (especially young ones) in danger. Many women will seek out abortion, especially scared teens who don't want their parents to find out, and not getting the proper care can cause serious problems or even death. Getting an abortion takes a toll on the body, and if women have no choice but to go out of the country or get "back alley" abortions, they put themselves at risk for disease, excessive bleeding, and loads of other potential problems. Making abortion legal would make it possible for these women to get the care they need and keep their freedom to choose.

The government takes a lot of liberties that they really do not have the right to. We need to do something before our beloved country turns into a dictatorship. I am thankful, at least, that I have the freedom of speech to write this, and that it is not a crime to speak out against the government. At least, not yet...

The First Time

Welcome to my blog! I hope you're here to stay. In this first post, I want to tell you a little bit about myself. First, I am a woman, and I am proud of that! I'm young, but experienced. I am educated, but I love learning new things and believe that one should not stop learning until the day after they die.

If you want to get on my nerves, then all you need to do is be sexist or racist. Those are the two things I have zero tolerance for, so if you fall into either one of those categories, please close your window and don't come back. Period.

I am a very open person, and I love hearing different views. Obviously, there are as many different opinions as there are people in the world. I don't mind if people disagree with me and want to share something or call me out on something, just do so respectfully. Resorting to name-calling or other such childish retaliations only makes you look like a fool and lose credibility. The best way to learn and grow is by listening to different opinions.

Last but not least, if you are offended by "adult" discussions, this may not be the place for you. No, I won't be posting porn or other things like that, but there may be the occasional discussion about the interworkings of anatomy, female plumbing issues, sex life or other related topics of mature nature. (They will probably be few and far between, anyway.) If you are under 18, please get permission from your parents/guardians before reading and participating in discussion.

Okay, well, now that all that is out of the way, let's have some fun!