What is the Separation of Church and State?

polifrog




It is the separation of the pursuit of perfection from the state.

What perfection does the state offer in replacing the perfection it displaces? Simply stated, the non perfect corralling nature of law.

When we endeavor to supplant the pursuit of perfection with human law, we supplant the quest for human betterment and growth for the corralling enslavement of humanity stifled.

The Constitution does not define "separation of church and state", it defines separation of state from church. The fact is that the state is restricted from interfering with church matters, but that restriction does not apply in reverse. Such a restriction would be antithetical to representative democracy.

There is no "separation of church and state". Never was it intended for the Constitution to remove the pursuit of perfection from governance. The intent was only to prevent government from establishing a particular pursuit of perfection as well as to prevent government from interfering with particular pursuits of perfection.



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Santorum Applauds Separation of State From Church over Separation of Church and State With Stephanopoulos...

polifrog





Santorum gets it right on the concept of "separation of church and state". It is not absolute. My only quibble is that I wish he described how it is not absolute in a bite worthy way: when he denies the "separation of church and state" he should rephrase it as a separation of government from church, as church should not be rejected from having a role in our representative democracy.

I don’t believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute. The idea that the church can have no influence or no involvement in the operation of the state is absolutely antithetical to the objectives and vision of our country. This is the First Amendment. The First Amendment says the free exercise of religion. That means bringing everybody, people of faith and no faith, into the public square. Kennedy for the first time articulated the vision saying, no, ‘faith is not allowed in the public square. I will keep it separate.’ Go on and read the speech ‘I will have nothing to do with faith. I won’t consult with people of faith.’ It was an absolutist doctrine that was foreign at the time of 1960.

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To say that people of faith have no role in the public square? You bet that makes you throw up. What kind of country do we live that says only people of non-faith can come into the public square and make their case?

That makes me throw up and it should make every American who is seen from the president, someone who is now trying to tell people of faith that you will do what the government says, we are going to impose our values on you, not that you can’t come to the public square and argue against it, but now we’re going to turn around and say we’re going to impose our values from the government on people of faith, which of course is the next logical step when people of faith, at least according to John Kennedy, have no role in the public square.

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