The first amendment of the constitution of the United States of America states “Congress shall make no law, respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. This law has given the United States of America the status of a secular state since 1791, meaning that its states have to be official neutral in matters of religion. However, many factors strongly contradict its values; Especially in the 20th century, where there have been many cases where citizens weren’t treated equally regardless of religion. In effect, Jefferson’s “wall of separation” as a metaphor for the separation of church and state promotes free exercise of religion yet its concept has proven to be difficult because the USA governs with a Federal system and today, there is 900 different denominations in the country. The establishment clause hasn’t been equally respected within the states of the country; for example, the constitution of Arkansas states “ No person who denies the being of God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this state, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any court”, this heavily contradicts the USA’s secularity. It has always been a very difficult task for the country to separate religion and government; how has religion played a major role in American culture and politics since the beginning of the 20th century?…
