(Post 3 of 5)
(Originally published in TheScoop2017.wordpress.com, March 2017)
This is the third in a series of posts on religious freedom. The first post provides a history and definition of the church state debate. The second gives an overview of each argument. This post identifies the voice behind the strict separation position.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
The same year Chief Justice Black resurrected the church-state phrase, and as a result of the Everson v. Board of Education case, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) was founded to promote and defend the separation principle. AU.org mission statement reads in part that it is an “…educational organization dedicated to preserving the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure religious freedom for all Americans,” and seeks to “…educate elected officials and general public in support of church-state issues,” (Mission). One of the cases they have been instrumental in is “striking down government-sponsored prayer and Bible reading in public schools.” (Mission) When those who would oppose this strict separation interpretation began challenging these changes, AU defended their position, stating, “…no branch of government has the right to compel children to take part in religious worship,” (Our History). A guiding principle of AU since inception is that the “government must remain neutral on religious questions,” (Our History). AU believes religious freedoms rest on “a high and firm barrier” between church and state, and “religious liberty is not secure when the government presumes to promote religion over non-religion or favors one faith over another…(or) uses public services intended for everyone, such as the public schools, to indoctrinate or coerce participation in worship…when the state taxes you to pay for someone else’s religion or when the government appropriates and displays the symbols of a faith that you may not share…in the right of all Americans to freely choose a faith and support it voluntarily or to follow no religious or spiritual path at all…” (Why We Care). Who are those who support the AU, and what do they believe?
AU’s supporters are those who want references to God removed from the public square; those who believe the government should not promote religion over non-religion. This can be seen from the AU’s position opposing every attempt to reinstitute prayer in the public schools, their opposition to the “Religious Freedom Amendment,” as well as working to disallow alternatives to evolutionary theory to be taught in the public schools, among others. Quoting the AU website, “…religious liberty is not secure when the government presumes to promote religion over non-religion…” and “in the right of all Americans to freely choose a faith and support it voluntarily or to follow no religious or spiritual path at all.”
Many who support the AU are those who adhere to no religious or spiritual path, such as those who hold a humanistic philosophy.
Humanism
Humanism, as defined by Fred Edwords on AmericanHumanist.org is, among other things, “… a philosophy…focused on a human means for comprehending reality…(who) make no claims to possess or have access to supposed transcendent knowledge…(who) reject arbitrary faith, authority, revelation, and altered states of consciousness…(who) regard human values as making sense only in the context of human life rather than in the promise of a supposed life after death… Humanist ethics is solely concerned with meeting human needs…and devotes no attention to the …supposed theological entities… (W)e evolved…over a long period of time… (T)here is no compelling evidence for a separable ‘soul,’ and… certain built-in needs…form the basis for any human-oriented value system… (We) are committed to civil liberties, human rights, (and) church-state separation…” (Edwords).
Next, post 4 – defining religion
Also in this series
Post 5: Religious Freedom: societal consequence of silencing beliefs
Previous in this series
Post 1: Religious Freedom: Brief history of church state debate
Post 2: Religious Freedom: pro and con positions of church state debate
Works Cited
The Boisi Center Papers On Religion in the United States, Separation of Church and State. Publication. Boston College, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. <http://www.bc.edu/>.
Easterbrook, Chief Judge. “Badger Catholic v. Walsh, 7th Circuit Opinion.” Alliance Defending Freedom Media. Alliance Defending Freedom, 01 Sept. 2010. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. <http://www.adfmedia.org/>.
Edwords, Fred. “What Is Humanism.” Americanhumanist.org. American Humanist Association, 2008. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. <http://americanhumanist.org/>.
Epps, Garrett. “Constitutional Myth #4: The Constitution Doesn’t Separate Church and State.” The Atlantic. The Atlantic Monthly Group, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. <http://www.theatlantic.com/>.
Flax, Bill. “The True Meaning of Separation of Church and State.” Editorial. Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 09 July 2011. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. <http://www.forbes.com/>.
“Frequently Asked Questions — Religion: The First Amendment Says Nothing about ‘separation of Church and State’ …Is It Really Part of the Law?” First Amendment Center. Vanderbilt University and the Newseum, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. <http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/>.
“Frequently Asked Questions — Religion: Has the Supreme Court Defined ‘Religion’?” First Amendment Center. Vanderbilt University and the Newseum, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. <http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/>.
“Student Story, Ruth Malhotra and Orit Sklar, Georgia Tech’s Speech Code Declared Unconstitutional.” Speak Up :. Alliance Defending Freedom, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. <http://www.speakupmovement.org/StudentStories/Details/23219>.
Noebel, David A., J.F. Baldwin, and Kevin Bywater. “Is the Religion of Secular Humanism Being Taught in Public School Classrooms?” Christiananswers.net. Christian Answers Network, 1999. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. <http://christiananswers.net/>. Adapted from Clergy in the Classroom: The Religion of Secular Humanism, Summit Ministries
” Our Mission, Our History, Our Victories, and Why We Care pages.” Americans United. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. <http://www.au.org/>.