Religion and Government

Posted by Jason Taylor on August 7th, 2024

Timeline of Events

PART ONE

Perhaps a good event to start off the discussion is the re-establishment of the Church of England in America in 1776. Prior to 1776, most of the states had had the Church of England de-established but the process in the state of Virginia made it all the more consequential. Before then, the church was under total government control and the government/state used it as a tool to control the citizenry. However, with the de-establishment, it meant that the church and the society emancipated themselves from state control.

Another key event was the enactment of the First Amendment in 1791. In the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, The Framers embodied a move towards secularization by detaching any form of government involvement and control over cultural and religious matters. The Framers left religion undefined perhaps as a way of protecting the diverse religious beliefs from undue government prohibition.

Reynolds v. United States decision pops up as an additional landmark event. In 1878, Reynold, a Mormon, wanted his polygamous practice to be protected under the Free Exercise Clause and although the Supreme Court found this practice as too unconventional to warrant First Amendment protection, the court failed to give the word religion a definition.

In addition to quality custom essay writing to, the introduction of many non-Christian faiths in America is a landmark event. This happened in 1893 when Chicago’s chapter of the World Parliament of Religions allowed for the inception of other faiths such as Jainism and Buddhism in the state as the definition of religion was left at the reference of one’s view with their creator.

The 20th century saw a number of key events touching on government, society, and religion. This is a period in which two world wars were fought and akin to the preparation to enter the Second World War, Congress passed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 It was the government’s first wartime requirement for conscription but the Act provided for the conscientious objection clause which exempted persons from being drafted into the military on grounds of religious training and belief.

A number of issues arose following the Selective Service Act of 1940. In 1948, Congress amended the Act to in particular define the term ‘religious training and belief’. This followed a duo of Supreme Court rulings that found it hard to give a proper interpretation of the law due to the ambiguity of the ‘religious training and belief’ phrase. Congress defined this as the beliefs individuals held as related to a Supreme Being and the individual’s duties to them.

Birmingham demos and the arrest of King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. had gone to Birmingham in April 1963 to take part in a demonstration organized by the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, an affiliate of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a movement that King Jr. was president to. This came in the wake of increased segregation and violence against black persons more so in the southern states. As a result of this King Jr. was imprisoned in Birmingham for participating in an unlawful demonstration.

The Abington School District v. Schempp decision. The Supreme Court in 1963 determined that the practices of Bible Reading and reciting the Lord’s Prayer were a contravention of the Constitution and actions that violated the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment because they were primarily meant to promote religion. The law provided religious education and Bible reading only for secular and historical purposes.

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act. In 1993, and in response to the 1990 Employment Division v. Smith case, Congress passed the RFRA which mandated judges to invoke the state interest test while making determinations on claims dealing with an alleged contravention of the free exercise of religion, at the federal or state jurisdictions. This Act guaranteed freedom and protection to interests in religious freedoms.

The Kaufman v. McCaughtry decision. This was a ruling by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals which held that atheism should be accorded equal treatment to any other traditional religion as provided for in the constitution. This decision had many religious organizations displeased because of its likelihood to bolster atheism and equate it to traditional forms of religion.

PART TWO

Executive Summary

Part one of this paper is a timeline of events in American history touching on issues to do with government involvement in societal and religious matters. The events are dated back to as far as the 18th century during the American Revolution that brought with it the fall/de-establishment of the Church of England in the USA. This can be seen as the first of so many steps towards achieving complete religious emancipation from state control. This culminated in the drafting of the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment which to date is seen as the distinction between state and religion. The Framers of the clause sought to free up religion from unwarranted state control by failing to give it a succinct definition and as a result, any government involvement in religious matters is met by litigation confrontation as concerned persons like conscientious objectors seek to have the court's bar state organs from restricting their religious functions. This has ironically even led to atheism being accorded the same treatment as traditional religions under the law.

In the second part, there is a detailed review of material relating to issues of religion and American governance. In the opening paragraph is a background of the interconnectedness of the state, society, and religion. In that web of connections, government control and restriction over religion are perceived as the most troubling issue. Americans are religious yet very secular persons who believe in the autonomy of a person’s control over their actions. In key historical events like the Civil War and the World Wars, the American government had made moves to try and control its citizenry especially through conscription but it was forced to backtrack on such decisions. Americans unanimously feel that Government control of religion is unconducive for religion and an impediment to a free society.

Opening Paragraph

The interconnectedness of the state/government, religion, and society in the American perspective is one dotted with a myriad of happenings. The dogmas in this interconnection of institutions are in the issue of state control and restrictions on religion. Comparing the citizens of the US and citizens elsewhere in the world, Americans are ostensibly more religious and more inclined to believe that people control their own destiny. From the time of the re-establishment of the Church of England to the enactment of the First Amendment, American society has been vehemently against the control of its people by the state through the Church and religion.

Answer to the Question: Material Review

When The Framers, Madison, and Jefferson, in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, failed to succinctly define religion in a move many people today see as one intended to protect religion from undue state control. This was the epitome of the de-establishment of the church as an organ of state control and the beginning of a move towards the modern secularism that flourishes in America today. Separating the church and religion from the government was the only sure way to ensure the religious and economic emancipation of the society. The state would no longer have the people tethered to it by the chords of religion. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment was the great wall setting the state and the government aside. But the government has still shown intentions to control and restrict society and religion even on the lines of race. However, the First Amendment has been a crucial point of reference in litigation processes where persons and organizations have felt restricted by the government. A key point of illustration has been the court’s interpretation and definition of the term religion which has been sought after in so many litigation processes across the 20th and part of the 21st centuries. Government control of religion is unconducive for religion and an impediment to a free society.

Conclusion

In summary, the fact that society, religion, and state continually interact cannot be objected. From a historical perspective, the state usually controlled society through the church (religion). However, with the American Revolution came the de-establishment of the church and the emancipation of society and religion from state control. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment is what to date is seen as the shield of religion and society against government restriction and control. Perhaps the Framers knew all too well that failing to give a formal definition of religion in the Establishment Clause would set religion free from undue government control. To date, issues pertaining to the definition and scope of the government’s control over religious functions have hit the courts of law innumerable times. That notwithstanding, it still remains true that the state's control of religion is unconducive for religion and an impediment to a free society.