Separation of Church and State

Separation of Church and State

I've always found that the notion people have of separation of church and state is grossly inaccurate. Separation of church and state has been used as a way to prevent prayer in public schools, stop politicians from voting according to theological belief, removing nativity scenes and the Ten Commandments from public property, etc. and has essentially turned into the slogan for a political correctness campaign. These are deviations from its original meaning and intent. But in order for us to understand what "separation of church and state" actually means we must first look at it's historical context. The term began as a way of expressing the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the first amendment which state "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." That's it, it comes straight from our First Amendment. The reason it was written was because of the Church of England which was established by Henry VIII as a way to divorce his wife, which the Catholic Church denied. He created his own church in order to do as he pleased. The Church of England was ruled by the head of the country which caused corruption and oppression, the very reason many pilgrims came to settle the colonies. This country was founded upon religious freedom from oppression and the separation of church and state simply guarantees that the government cannot be the head of any church or religious organization.