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View Full Version : democracy best served??

kouga
Dec18-04, 10:07 PM
would democray be best served if the government was strictly seperated from the church??

tell me ur views plz
russ_watters
Dec19-04, 10:12 AM
No. It is anti-democratic to tell a group of people they can't make decisions based on a certain set of beliefs.
motai
Dec19-04, 10:53 AM
Here is some background to work with:

There are two things in the American Constitution that talks about the separation of church and state. The first one is the free-exercise clause, which states that "Congress shall make no law ... prohibiting the free exercise thereof." All this means is that you are free to practice your own religion and not risk governmental persecution for those beliefs.

The second part to this is a little more controversial. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..." forms the basis of the establishment clause. This determines whether the government can officially recognize a religion.

[/background]

It would probably be in the best interests of the government to not favor one particular religion over another, in essence being a pure secular government. Otherwise there would be an inequality in the way the government treats some citizens (or provides them with services) over other citizens who may have differing beliefs.
kouga
Dec25-04, 02:56 PM
The second part to this is a little more controversial. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..." forms the basis of the establishment clause. This determines whether the government can officially recognize a religion.

[/background]

It would probably be in the best interests of the government to not favor one particular religion over another, in essence being a pure secular government. Otherwise there would be an inequality in the way the government treats some citizens (or provides them with services) over other citizens who may have differing beliefs.



then you are saying that there is no discrimination of other religions now due to these laws because it would be unconstitutional? because many laws today are based on christian beliefs, religously and morally.