Government and Religion
Essay by Justin D. Lowry
Our constitution gives us freedom of religion, which I view as the right thing. Our Creator gave us the free will to choose our faith, so our government should as well.
The first think you must consider is how the government might use religion. Politicians have a record of accomplishment of corruption and immorality; so then why trust them with an entity that teaches morality? They could also use it for population control, as well as personal gain. Whenever a government sets up a theocracy, they use their interpretation of God to dictate the law and society. Consider the "Divine Rights of Kings" in medieval Europe. God chose the king; therefore, to revolt against the king was to revolt against God. They had to choice but to tolerate the oppression.
This abuse of religion then leads to the distrust of religion. People will start to question their faith, as well as God. They will wonder why God would allow such things to happen. They would wonder why God would choose such a selfish tyrant to rule in his stead.
The opposite side of this spectrum is a government banning religions. If a government endorses one religion, it must ban the rest in order to have total control. It is necessary, seeing how if they enforced laws by their religion, people of other faiths would feel no need to obey them, or to not question them. This ban causes inequality and persecution. This may also lead to violence towards this group.
Then you have the government that bans all religions. This government has total control over its populace. When you take away all religion, you take away all hope and faith. Hope and faith are a great source of strength during hard times. This leads to more reliance on the government. This form also expects people to believe they are the ultimate power and truth. They believe that no one should be above them, not even God.
Any type of government interaction with religion causes a monopoly. The government not only would control the military and government, but religion as well. It would control every aspect of society.
The government must also respect the separation in personal life. The government must not ban public display of religion, in the name of diversity. It must not ban private business from displaying religion, in the name of diversity either. It is that business's right to display it if they want to. If it offends people, then they will not shop there. Diversity is not silencing one group, nor is it silencing all groups. Instead, it is allowing all groups to have an equal voice.
The separation of church and state is a fine line that we must walk. Balance is the key. The perfect government will strike a balance between theocracy and a non-religious country. It will not endorse any religion, nor will it ban the open practice of any non-harmful religion either. That gives the people true freedom.