Freedom First: Separation of Church and State[+ favourites]
Excerpt: The founders of our nation believed that all Americans should have the right to worship according to their own beliefs, or not to worship at all. So strong was their commitment to religious freedom that they enshrined it in the first sentence of the Bill of Rights.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."
This constitutional guarantee is often known as the "first freedom."
Religion is a deeply personal matter. Americans must be free to practice their religion without coercion. Government exists to provide for the general well-being of all people, and its workings must be independent of specific religious doctrines. Simply put, there must be a separation of church and state.
If we do not stand together as a nation, we stand to lose this fundamental freedom.
"The Greatest Enemy of Knowledge is Not Ignorance, It is the ILLUSION of Knowledge. Stephen Hawking"
quote: P.S. As to separation of Church & State . . . I have often heard it implied that the reasoning behind this separation has to do with the rights of the individual & the church? Which promoted the question of it being acceptable Christian doctrine? I was thinking about his statements & thought Jesus & the disciples walked through a field on the Sabbath. Now some made charges against them for eating the grain but I started to think why had not the charge of trespassing been made by those accusing him of wrong? The only thing I could possibly think of was the issue of putting man's doctrines (laws) before GOD's Traditions?
The first acts of the Apostles' was to confront the dominant state structure or religion(s) by teaching Christianity giving they followed GOD's Words first, not that of the (state) religion. Which of course lead to their persecution. So I would think at issue is the right to follow (live) according to your beliefs (religion), not just the right of belief.
