This is the first part of a long essay that I wrote on the Separation of Church and State. I have inserted headers for each section so that the main point of each part of my essay is clear. The other parts of the essay will be up soon. Religion, especially Christianity, has been an integral part of America ever since it was founded in the late 1700s. Our founding fathers have written the Constitution to ensure religious freedom for all Americans. Amendment I of the United States Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” The concept of separation of church and state has become an important and popularized interpretation of the Establishment clause in the First Amendment, but amidst controversy about the issue today, there are some points that we must make clear about the issue of the separation of church and state.
1. The Separation of Religion and Government is Impossible
The first idea to consider in solving this issue of separation of church and state is that government and religion are inseparable. In one of the most dramatic scenes from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, when Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, plans to take revenge by taking a pound of flesh from Antonio, Portia, acting as a judge responds by saying,
Tarry a little. There is something else.
This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood.
The words expressly are “a pound of flesh.”
Take then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh,
But in the cutting it if thou dost shed
One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods
Are by the laws of Venice confiscate
Unto the state of Venice.
(IV.i.318-325)
Shylock admits defeat at Portia’s demand that he not shed any blood and take exactly one pound of flesh. What made Shylock admit defeat? His defeat can only be attributed to the fact that flesh and blood are inseparable. The same goes for government and religion. Just like blood goes with flesh, government goes with religion and the two are intertwined in such a way that they are inseparable. Religion is an integral part of the life of every human being and is furthermore, the foundation for it. Thus, religion influences everything from science and philosophy to economy and human relationships, and it is impossible to remove such influence of religion. Many scientists today tend to ignore and ridicule religion, but they don’t realize that Christian religion is what essentially provided the environment and mindset for science to flourish. This is something that world history tells us. People may argue that Christianity actually represses science, pointing to the Middle Ages. Although science was indeed repressed in the Middle Ages, which is considered a Christian era, the Church in the Middle Ages was corrupted beyond repair and cannot be truly categorized as fundamentally Christian. However, science flourished after the Reformation era when the church was reformed. Reformation brought forth the Renaissance era, which is usually associated with the advancement of science. It is clear that although it may seem like this advancement was a result of a break from religion, one look at the history of the world and its timeline makes it clear that the Reformation allowed the science, art, music, and enlightenment associated with the Renaissance period to flourish. A look at some of the world’s most renown scientists also makes this message clear. Isaac Newton, considered one of the most important scientists of all times made many important contributions to the world; one of them being his laws of universal gravitation and motion. Where would Newton have gotten his enthusiasm and curiosity for science and mathematics? Newton once said “Gravity explains the motions of the planets, but it cannot explain who set the planets in motion. God governs all things and knows all that is or can be done.” His strong Christian belief was the basis for his important scientific contributions to the world, and the advancement of the scientific world came from Christians such as him. “Mechanical advancement” from experience may be possible even under a religion that idolizes nature, but “Scientific advancement” from experiments and inquiries based on reasoning and faith would not have been possible. For example, if scientists didn’t have the faith that the universe was made in an orderly fashion by God, modern scientists might have been kneeling under trees and praying to the trees to make their wish come true. Therefore, scientists must understand that Christianity, which provides the way for them to govern and control our universe, is their scientific root and foundation. Religion also influences economics. Religion has the ability to stimulate the economy into growth, or lead the economy into a recession. Religion makes people either respect economic practices or look down upon it, because religious concepts influence people’s economic philosophy and economic activities. Intellectual economists don’t emerge from religious societies such as the Confucianist societies that believe that the poor are all good and the rich are all evil. Christians on the other hand, don’t see the rich as evil and thus encourage people to use wealth as a tool to stimulate the economy and serve less fortunate people.
Naturally, not only does religion shape economics, but it also shapes people’s political ideology. Humans aren’t programmed to think and act a certain way, unlike animals, so education is vital in shaping the ideology, values, ideas, and attitudes of humans. Religion shapes what’s most important in humans; one’s character and personality. In one word, religion shapes one’s humanity. Thus, the religion that a person believes in is bound to have a direct effect on the person’s politics. For instance, India is a democratic country, but India’s social structure is based upon the cast system, stemming from their Hinduism. Many Indian intellectuals say that Hinduism is the most important road block to the advancement of India. For example, Hinduism prevents anyone from killing cows, so cows may walk around in the middle of the street, making transportation very complicated and difficult. However, Democracy was founded on Christian principles, which values the life of one man more than anything. Wherever, Christianity was established, totalitarianism was destroyed and in its place came democracy and the message of equality and freedom. Christianity not only founded Democracy but is still an integral part of Democratic principles that all Americans value and hold dear. We must realize that the society and the political order of a country are determined by the religion that influences that country and deal with the matter of separation of church and state very seriously.
