The State versus Jesus Christ
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...These very important words were written over 200 years ago, and are still misunderstood, misconstrued, and misinterpreted by a majority of the citizens they protect. These words form the opening of the Federal Constitution's first Amendment, which most only know as their "right to freedom of speech" or wrongly, the law which separates church and state. In truth, this opening contains two very important parts, which are referred to as the "establishment clause" and the "free exercise clause." The establishment clause prevents the government from declaring or supporting a national religion, while the free exercise clause states that citizens are free to exercise their own beliefs (Archives.gov). There is nothing written or implied which states that the government and religion cannot coexist. When our forefathers set out to write the United States Constitution, they knew that most citizens were living in this "new world" because they did not want to live in England, a country where religious persecution was widely dealt and the penalties were quite painful (Forerunner). Knowing full well that any form of government ba
They are also free to choose not to belong to or believe in any religion, which is something many modern young adults and teenagers appreciate. Blissful ignorance is a common theme of the under or uneducated; they fight more adamantly over ideas they either haven't researched, or do not understand. Is this what we really want? Does America truly not suspect that religion is an important building block in our history? I certainly acknowledge this, and will respectfully agree with many Bible-thumping rednecks - religion does have a place in the government, whether citizens choose to believe in a religion at all. For someone to want every reference to god be removed, that every biblical connotation be stricken from the records, for all of our founding documents to be rewritten to completely remove religion from our government, one would be called an unpatriotic imbecile. If religion is so bad, then how come it isn't chastised more in these documents?Religion was a major part of the foundation of this great country. Jefferson's letter however took on an entirely new approach as millions of Americans heard the phrase "separation of church and state" and without actually understanding what Jefferson was trying to set forth, simply regurgitated the phrase making implications Jefferson hadn't even thought of. The first Amendment provides for freedom from any religion as well as freedom of religion. At the same time, they are free to create new religions, thereby rejecting all other established faiths. Our great country has become a modern world power through an extensive background of religion and church, and without that environment we would not and could not be where we are today. These observations are what make up someone's morals: one knows it is wrong to kill another human simply because it is wrong. Jefferson explained that religion is a matter which is between a man and his god, and that the government has no say in what ways a man should practice his religion. Morals almost supersede time: The belief that something is wrong is unchanging, even 200 years later. Jefferson knew that this letter would be important in the founding of America, and after checking the wording over with his attorney general Levi Lincoln, he sent a response that would eventually be the most important letter regarding the first Amendment ever written. This means that Americans are free to belong to the religious systems of their choice - which also means they are free from having to accept another's beliefs. No matter what the choice, each and every American maintains full status as a citizen.
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Acceptance Essays
