What Does The Separation And Church And State Mean To Me, Personally?

Although much of the debate surrounding the separation of church and state involves the relationships between large institutions, that doesn’t mean that it does not impact you, personally. In fact, the separation of church and state has a number of implications for an individual citizen.

Because of the separation of church and state, the government is not allowed to tax you for the purpose of supporting someone else’s religion. If you are Jewish, you can’t be taxed to pay for Christian churches, Christian schools or Christian hospitals. If you are Muslim, you can’t be taxed to pay for Jewish synagogues, Jewish schools or Jewish hospitals. If you are a nonbeliever, you can’t be taxed to pay for anyone’s religious organizations. At least, that is how it is supposed to work.

Because of the separation of church and state, the government is not allowed to direct you in your religious observances. No government officials can come around and tell you that you should pray or that you should not pray. They cannot tell you that you should pray silently or out loud. They cannot tell you that you should take off Friday, Saturday or Sunday or any day as your sabbath or “day of rest.” They cannot tell you that your religion should be atheistic or theistic.

When it comes to religious matters, government officials quite simply have no authority whatsoever. Whether elected or appointed, they only have civil authority and only that much civil authority which the law allows. Authority in religious and sacred matters is completely removed from their jurisdiction. At least, that is how it is supposed to work.

This religious freedom is not simply a “negative” freedom, however. It is not simply a matter of the government staying out of your religious business. On the contrary, religious liberty requires the active involvement of the government on a number of different levels.

For one thing, the government is obligated to defend your religious liberty whenever it is violated. When one level of government discriminates against you for religious liberty, higher levels will act to defend you. When private companies discriminate against you because of religion, the government must act on your behalf to stop it.

If religious minorities gather in public, the government is obligated to provide police protection in order to ensure their safety and thus also their right to express their views. In any situation, the government also pays for the court system in which legal cases relating to religious liberty are heard and decided. At least, that is how it is supposed to work.

I keep writing “that is how it is supposed to work” because, even though the above statements describe how the separation of church and state *should impact your life, the sad fact of the matter is they aren’t always true. Not everyone agrees that government officials should have no religious authority and that the government should not instruct you how you should act when it comes to religion.

These are known as “breaches” or “holes” in the “wall” of separation of church and state. Because of regular attempts by a variety of organizations to do away with as much of separation as possible, there are many areas where separate is seriously weakened. Portions of this FAQ will address those breaches and examine what the issues are surrounding them.