This is the third part of a long essay that I wrote on the Separation of Church and State.3. Government and Religious Institutions Must be Separated
However, government and religious institutions must be separated. Religious institutions and government must be separated since its integration leads to danger and almost always ends in corruption of both the government and religion. History shows that when government and religious institutions are not separated, but are in each other’s service, the country quickly travels towards downfall. For example, the institutionalized Medieval Church and the king were not separated. When a new king sat on the throne, the church gave the king the power and the qualifications to be a king so that the people of the country wouldn’t dare rise up against the king. In return, as an efficient way to rule the kingdom, the kings declared one religion as the official religion of the country and helped the Church do religious activities without any problems by allowing only the religious institutions he approved to do any religious work. Through the help of the king, the church was able to achieve more power and gain privileges for themselves, and under this power, the people’s freedoms and rights were crushed. Thus, the problems and corruptions that seem to stem from religion is actually stem from corrupt religious institutions and corrupt politicians trying to use each other to benefit themselves. The Crusades or the Thirty Years War, widely known as religious wars, actually didn’t have much to do with religion. History shows us that it was the product of greed and a power struggle involving politicians, economists and clergymen, and people. For example, the Crusades started when King Alexius I of the Byzantine Empire asked Urban II, the pope of the Roman Empire for help. They rallied all of Europe with their appeal to recapture the holy land. Thus, it appears as if this war was fought for religion, but in actuality, it was a result of the combination of the pope’s wish for the expansion of his church and his political status, the king’s wish to claim his lands in the Byzantine territory (which had recently been lost to the Turks), and the European population’s greed for wealth and glory. The Thirty Years War was also on the surface, a conflict between Catholics and Protestants, but in reality it was a war for power disguised under the name of religion. Many problems that on the surface seemed to be purely religious problems were in reality a problem that arose from politicians and corrupted religious leaders creating a relationship to benefit from each other. We must learn from history and realize that what we should prevent is the integration of government and religious institutions. Also, we must understand the concept of “separation of church and state” in this historical context as well. Trying to accomplish the “separation of church and state” by removing religious symbols and expressions will only result in the “integration of atheism and state”. Trying to stop the spread of the teachings of a reliable and constructive religion will only create a dangerous situation for our society. Realizing this, it is necessary that we handle the issue of the “separation of church and state” very carefully.
