Separation of Church and State
The Wall of Separation Controversy
Separation of Church and State has been a major political issue for many years. There are loopholes and grey areas that we have yet to resolve. John Locke, William Blackstone, Roger Williams, John Witherspoon, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Wilbur F. Crafts were major players in the issue of Religion in Politics. These people have given various reasons as to why or why not religion must be separate from politics in a democracy. I will breakdown the most influential views and the people in which they belong and also include my thoughts on where they went wrong or when they were right. Sir William Blackstone was an influential individual regarding unification of religion and politics. He believed in the unification of Church and State. He believed that government had the obligation to teach religious doctrine and punish those who dissented religious teachings. He also emphasized the suppression of Catholics. Blackstone wrote “Of Offences Against God and Religion”. He believed that “such crimes and misdemeanors, as more immediately offend Almighty God, by openly transgressing the precepts of religion either natural or revealed.” Basically saying that the State should be compelled by the word of God to punish those who reject Christianity because it directly offends God Almighty. Non-Conformity is an offence also. There are two types of non-conformists: those who are absent from worship in an established church, and those who offend through a mistaken or perverse zeal. As you can see with the small portion of text from his writings, Blackstone was a radical Christian and he strongly believed that the Church and state should be unified. John Witherspoon also had a view of whether or not Church should be separate from State. He believed that the Church and the State should be unified and he argued firmly for the religious freedoms as quoted, “God grant that in America true religion and civil liberty may be inseparable
Separation of Church and State has been a major political issue for many years. There are loopholes and grey areas that we have yet to resolve. John Locke, William Blackstone, Roger Williams, John Witherspoon, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Wilbur F. Crafts were major players in the issue of Religion in Politics. These people have given various reasons as to why or why not religion must be separate from politics in a democracy. I will breakdown the most influential views and the people in which they belong and also include my thoughts on where they went wrong or when they were right. Sir William Blackstone was an influential individual regarding unification of religion and politics. He believed in the unification of Church and State. He believed that government had the obligation to teach religious doctrine and punish those who dissented religious teachings. He also emphasized the suppression of Catholics. Blackstone wrote “Of Offences Against God and Religion”. He believed that “such crimes and misdemeanors, as more immediately offend Almighty God, by openly transgressing the precepts of religion either natural or revealed.” Basically saying that the State should be compelled by the word of God to punish those who reject Christianity because it directly offends God Almighty. Non-Conformity is an offence also. There are two types of non-conformists: those who are absent from worship in an established church, and those who offend through a mistaken or perverse zeal. As you can see with the small portion of text from his writings, Blackstone was a radical Christian and he strongly believed that the Church and state should be unified. John Witherspoon also had a view of whether or not Church should be separate from State. He believed that the Church and the State should be unified and he argued firmly for the religious freedoms as quoted, “God grant that in America true religion and civil liberty may be inseparable