Separation Of Church And State

– The Evolution Of Essay, Research Paper

SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE:

THE EVOLUTION FROM ROGER WILLIAMS TO MODERN TIMES

The separation of church and state has been fiercely debated for more than three centuries. Before America became an independent union some of the English immigrants, known as Puritans, were coming to this new land to break away from the rule of the Church of England. The Puritans were attempting to “create a new church, all the while not separating from the old one” (Gaustad 50). However, there were others who believed that in order to completely reform the church, they should separate from the Mother Church. Many of the diehard Puritans believed that the separatist attitude was ungrateful, and consequently no one would take action. Roger Williams, a Calvinistic Puritan who later reformed to Separatism, was a very prominent historical figure in fighting for the separation of church and state. When the United States Constitution was being written, the real debate over religious freedom began. The words separation of church and state are never actually mentioned in the United States Constitution. When the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment was written, the writers considered the popular belief that God created free will in all people, and that the Government should not be allowed to restrain that free will. Another consideration was the taxation placed on the people for the purpose of financing all churches no matter what their beliefs. Consequently, people of one faith were being forced to contribute to churches of different faiths, which in their eyes infringed on their God given right to freedom of religion. Our forefathers saw a need to protect religion from the government and were very careful in choosing their words for the First Amendment. There is very little difference in the fight for religious freedom even now in the 21st Century. This battle is still being fought today in our society, as it is heatedly debated in our Congress, city hall, and all the way to the Supreme Court.

When Roger Williams came to Massachusetts Bay in 1631, he came with ”a reputation for learning and piety” (Miller 163), or religious devotion, and was soon offered a position as a minister in a Boston church. However, although he was a Puritan and believed the Church of England needed purifying, he also believed the new churches needed to be separated from the rule of the Church of England and the civil government. He turned down the ministerial position and later wrote “ ‘I durst not officiate to an unseparated people’ ” (Guastad 64). Because of the Puritan belief that “there had to be one uniform national religious policy” (Miller, 161), Williams moved on to Salem, and then to Plymouth where he became the leader of a separatist group. Williams was in fact, so much a separatist that it later became his demise. As an assistant pastor of a church in Salem, he attacked the church government, and then went on to attack the civil government as well. He was “protesting that magistrates must not punish Sabbathbreakers or violaters of any other religious requirement” (Gaustad 64-65). He was insisting to the New England government that they had no jurisdiction over the church because they had not properly purchased the land it sat on from the Indians. As a result of this outcry by Williams, he was ordered by trial verdict “that the said Mr. Williams shall depart out of this jurisdiction” (Gaustad 65). This event led Williams to a new settlement he named Providence, which he purchased from the Indians. Many separatists, as well as others, came flocking to this newly established land. One settler who helped Williams, in a profound way, establish the groundwork for religious freedom was John Clarke. The labors of these two men, Clarke and Williams, were intense and later rewarded by the Royal Charter obtained in 1663. This Charter declared “…that no person within the colony at any time hereafter shall be any wise molested, punished, disquieted, or call in question, for any differences of opinion in matters of religion…” (Gaustad 67). This charter allowed them the religious freedom, or separation from the state they had so vigorously fought for and brought on an era of “toleration” where all religions, idealistically, could coexist peacefully. This was where the separation of church and state began.

In 1776 the United States declared its independence and in 1787 the Constitution was born. The Constitution was written in such a way that it did not infer a Supreme Creator or God. This was because the forefathers recognized that not everyone in America was Christian. For instance, the Quakers interpreted the Bible to say they should refrain from oaths, which was why the last paragraph in Article VI says government officials in office “shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution” (Miller, 108). The separation of church and state issue comes from the Establishment Clause in Article VI of the First Amendment of the Constitution and reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” (Gaustad 125). This clause has been interpreted that government may not sanction any church, cannot show favoritism of one religion or another, make laws that show religious favoritism, or make any person believe or not believe in any religion. “In short, government must be neutral towa