Taboo: Religion vs. Government Essay

Words: 957
Pages: 4

Senior Rough Draft
March 10, 2014

Taboo: Religion vs. Government

Church, religion, belief, government? Whenever somebody mentions religion and the government in the same sentence, it seems to be very controversial. The word religion seems to frighten most of society these days, whereas the government and/or politics are discussed frequently. There is a thin line between religion and government. What is religion exactly? How do we as a society view religion differently than we have in the past? The relationship between government and religion is quite controversial. What are politics have to do with religion? If we as a country have the right to freedom of speech and/or beliefs, why are we keeping them hidden? Has the government

Religious freedom in the United States is a right. Freedom of religion or Freedom of belief is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to organized religion or belief in teaching, practice, and worship. The idea is generally known to include the freedom to change religion or to not follow any religion.
The separation does not limit all elements of religion. For example, the country's currency has the motto "In God We Trust." When Congress begins its session, they begin it with a prayer. As well as the Pledge of Allegiance, which contains the phrase, "one nation, under God". Court rulings have upheld these religious references, officially viewing them as non-substantive "ceremonial deism". This basically is just a legal term used for religious statements that are by tradition and have no religious context. Recent lawsuits have unsuccessfully tried to challenge this term and/or view. There have been some expressions of religion on public property, including certain displays of the Ten Commandments in courtrooms or Nativity scenes on public land have been ruled to be unconstitutional. For instance, a religious group cannot perform human sacrifice under the veil of separation of church and state because the government views it as murder and