April 18, 2016
“Separation of Church
and State”: Some Thoughts
By Truman Bashore
This idea is as old as our country put forth by Jefferson and Madison;
however, in his online article Dale Hansen states that “nowhere
in the First Amendment does the phrase ‘separation of church exist (Yes
There is a Constitutional Separation of Church and State’ 9/21/2015
HUFFPOST POLITICS).
Hansen points out that the final arbiter for this argument is the
Supreme Court and he cites Everson v Board of Education and Rowe v.
Wade among others. The issue that crops up in these court cases
is that these issues aren’t in the Constitution arguing that this
document “was never meant to be stagnant. Hansen goes on to point
out that during its existence the Court has been shaped to
clearly show that there is a clear mandate to protect “every religion
equally.”
That said, the current political climate is such that those on the
right want to limit religious freedom as evidenced by Mr. Trump’s call
to “register Muslims”. Further, the right for woman to choose is
continually under attack based again on “Thou shall not kill” except
when it comes to the death penalty.
The benefits of “separation” are there for us all and our various
beliefs. The Constitution is a mandate to protect each of our
beliefs including atheists.
In short, I would ask the Right to take a deep breath and celebrate our
diversity instead of condemning anyone with whom they disagree
just to get votes.
Truman Bashore
Greenville
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