Separation of Church and State - Part 7

This is the last part of a long essay I wrote on the Separation of Church and State.

7. Americans Must Understand Christianity

Lastly, Americans must understand Christianity. One cannot understand India without knowing about Hinduism, and one cannot possibly live in India without understanding Hinduism. Only when one understands Hinduism can one understand why cows roam freely around India. To succeed in India, one must be willing to accept the Hindu religion and the Indian lifestyle, as well as also understand the ideals, public opinion, and culture of the country. One can’t expect to be welcomed in Korea or China by praising Japan because the cultural sentiment toward Japan is bad. In the Middle East, a woman must know not to be active or visible, and one could very well get killed trying to preach Christian beliefs and acting as if one were in America. The same holds true for America.

To live in America, one must understand American ideals, values, and culture, not only through knowledge, but through experience. Having knowledge in one’s head and gaining knowledge through one’s own experience are two different things. Growing children especially must be taught about the foundation of America, its role in and effect on the world, its influence, the mindset of the founding fathers, and the reasons behind those ideas. Only then can children truly “know” America and come to understand it. The American government and religious institutions must be separated, but trying to remove all traces of religion will only inhibit America. Taking away a language from a person will handicap that person since people think with their language and taking away language would therefore be taking away the tool that gives people the ability to think. Similarly, Christian customs, traditions, and values along with history and science, which have their foundations in Christianity, are a form of living “language” that all Americans must know. Without Christianity, how would one understand America, talk about America and think about America?

The issue of human rights also shows the great influence that Christianity has. There is a need to look at Europe which now has turned its back on Christianity. European countries take human rights to the extreme, even going so far as to ban the death penalty. Nonetheless, they discriminate against foreigners and minorities, making it extremely hard and humiliating for these minorities to live in Europe. On the other hand, in America, minorities and even illegal immigrants to some extent are able to get education, healthcare, and have most of the benefits that all Americans have. These actions aren’t merely political schemes, but a result of the Christian ideology and values that shaped America. Christian values are what made Americans value minority rights and helping the less fortunate. If we take Christianity away, we will take all our American values with it. No other country protects human rights, minority rights, and freedom of speech as much as America. No other country helps the needy first, races to assist in the midst of a tragedy, and gives so much freedom to its people. Why is this? Is it because of education? Many other countries educate their population at least as much as America. Everyone must understand that these values and principles are all a fruit of Christianity. The politicians of America must realize that they have the responsibility to prevent anything from hindering such education.

We need to teach Christianity to students. That doesn’t mean making them Christians or making them go to church. It simply means that we need to teach our students what Christian values and beliefs are so that they are familiar with Christian life. Thus, decisions such as banning prayer sessions from school for instance, should be reconsidered. Attending prayer sessions will not make anyone Christian. Attending prayer sessions and being a Christian are two different things. Aside from trying to convert students to Christianity, we must allow prayer sessions and chapel sessions as a means for children to learn about America. Similarly, symbols such as the cross and the Ten Commandments are a symbol of sacrifice and American values, which are essential elements of American identity. It must not be removed, as it is another of America’s “language”. What can America gain by removing such symbols and language instead of helping other people understand it? When we teach lessons of sacrifice that our great ancestors made through such symbols, America’s future can become brighter.

Today, America is sympathizing with the peace activists today demonstrating against war, because they don’t know Christianity. The peace demonstraters’ arguments sound right to Americans and make Americans feel guilty because the American people don’t know the Biblical truth. Also, if people don’t know Christianity or the Bible, non-Christians, such as environmentalists could be mistaken as true Christians. The Bible teaches us to conquer and control the whole earth, but those who only understand Christianity as a religion of “emotional love” believe that we must “love” even animals like lions that kill humans. Even if humans are killed because of animals like bears and crocodiles, they don’t allow these dangerous animals to be killed, believing that keeping them alive is showing love for the animals. Many people also argue that the death penalty should be outlawed, because executing murderers is another murder in itself. America once listened to the voices of these people and some states completely outlawed the death penalty. However, what was the result of this “reform”? Murder rates rose to the point that the states eventually had to reinstate the death penalty. When people don’t understand Christianity, they feel guilty executing criminals because they believe it is simply another murder. When people don’t understand Christianity, they misunderstand criminals as just sick patients to be sympathized with. Thus, we must at least educate people so that such mistakes do not happen. It’s fine if people choose not to go to church, but they still need to understand and know.

Just like it is foolish to burn a house to kill a lice, refusing to receive the gifts that religion can give us because of bad influences that religious institutions had on politics in the past is also very foolish. We must help reliable and positive religions to flourish and spread its message to others. At the least, their efforts shouldn’t be hindered. The role of religion is very important since dangerous ideologies seep in when people’s hearts and minds are empty. The same goes for the political world, so we must make efforts to keep Christianity alive in America and make sure that Christianity can do its duties. When Christianity can perform its duties, when Christian values are respected, when every American understand Christianity, America can continue to grow and become a strong and great nation.