The Constitutional Principle of Separation of Church and State Essay

The Constitutional Principle of Separation of Church and StateIt has been suggested that there is flowingly a culture war taking lieu in the United States. Depending on who you listen to, you will get vastly different descriptions of the two sides. Some will insist that the fight is between the upholders of sound Christian, moral values and godless, secular-minded, moral relativists. Others will tell you that defenders of religious freedom and rational thought are battling religious fundamentalists who wish to impose their radically orthodox settings on the whole of the American populace. Regardless of which way you view the debate, the entire so-called culture war boils down to a basic disagreement everyplace the place of religion in public life. In light of President Bushs recent nominations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the autocratic Court, I believe it is careful to have a thorough discussion of the Constitutional principle of insularism of church and state, because how the Supreme Court rules on issues related to this principle in the future day will have a profound impact on how we define ourselves as a country. In order to conduct a thorough doubtfulness into this debate, I believe it is necessary to start at the beginning and attempt to discern how our founding fathers viewed religions place in public life, and how they relayed this view in the First Amendment. After I have done this, I will try to apply some of the principles I have gathered to current hot-button social issues which are likely to come before the Supreme Court in the not too distant future.Proponents of a highly limited separation of church and state often argue that Americas founding fathers would be appalled at the extent to which the Judeo... ...ically examine the people we choose to permit sit on our nations highest court. No person should be afforded a free ride to a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court without some assurances that they will protect and uphold basic Constitutional principles such as the separation of church and state. Failing to do so expertness well lead to a nation in which we are all less free, just the kind of nation that our founding fathers went to such extraordinary and majestic lengths to avoid. Works CitedFeldman, Noah. God, government and you. USA Today 10/17/2005.Allen, Brooke. Our Godless Constitution. Nation 280.7 (2005) 14-20.Isaacson, Walter. God of Our Fathers. Time July 2004 62-63.Jacoby, Susan. In Praise of Secularism. Nation 278.15 (2004) 14-18.Boston, Rob. James capital of Wisconsin and Church-State Separation. Church & State 54.3 (2001) 10-14.