04-18-2006, 05:30 PM
I swiped this from Wikipedia and am very happy with the neutral tone it's presented in neither saying that the current state of affairs in the US is good or bad... just that it is.
In the 1600s and 1700s, many Europeans immigrated to what would later become the United States. For some this was driven by the desire to worship freely in their own fashion. These included a large number of nonconformists such as the Puritans and the Pilgrims as well as English Catholics. However, with some exceptions, such as Roger Williams of Rhode Island or the Roman Catholic Lord Baltimore in Maryland, most of these groups did not believe in religious toleration and in some cases came to America with the explicit aim of setting up a theocratic state.
Such history and beliefs were integrated into the U.S. Constitution with the passing of the Bill of Rights containing the First Amendment. The clause of the First Amendment that adopted the founders' principles of separation of church and state and freedom of religion is known as the Establishment Clause. It states, and notice the word Congress and only Congress, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...."
The interpretation of that clause is subject to disagreement. Some hold that the founders' intent was to prevent the state from mandating or banning any religion, while others, including the ACLU, hold to the view that no government — federal, state or local — can perform any action or make any policy which blatantly favors one faith or church over the others, or which favors belief in God or the Supreme being over non-belief. The latter position has been gradually adopted by the Supreme Court since the latter half of the nineteenth century, though the Court is not unanimous on this: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, an "originalist" who favors the Constitutional founders' interpretation and application of the Constitution, disagrees with the modern view.
The court-enforced separation does not extend to all elements of civil religion. By law, the country's currency now carries the motto "In God We Trust". Congress begins its sessions with a prayer, and since 1954 the Pledge of Allegiance contains the phrase, "one nation, under God". Court rulings have upheld these apparently religious references, viewing them as non-substantive "ceremonial deism" or utilizing other legal theories. Recent lawsuits have unsuccessfully attempted to challenge this view. Some expressions of religion on public property, such as certain displays of the Ten Commandments in courtrooms or Nativity scenes on public land have been recently ruled to be unconstitutional. The government is also permitted to restrict religious activities so long as these restrictions do not target religion specifically. For instance, a religious group can not perform human sacrifice under the veil of separation of church and state because the government views it as murder and murder is illegal.
Religion plays a strong role in national politics, especially in controversial moral issues like abortion, euthanasia, and homosexuality. Direct church-state issues also arise, currently including the question of whether or not school vouchers should be used to help parents pay for education at religious schools, and the status of the faith-based initiatives of the current President, George W. Bush.
The most prominent religious participants in national politics are Evangelical Christians, largely allied with the Republican Party and in the so-called Bible Belt of the Southern and Midwestern United States, but other Protestants (including predominantly liberal sects), Catholics, Mormons, Jews, Muslims, non-believers, and other faiths are also quite active. Some religious groups wish to increase the ability of government to make various religious expressions; they often emphasize the largely Christian demographics and history of the country, however it is also often used as an attempt to give state sanction to a majoritarian faith at the direct expense of the rights of minority religious groups. See Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe
It is common practice for national politicians with strongly religious constituencies to cite religious texts or beliefs in support of certain policies. In other areas voters may be more disapproving of expressions of religious faith by political candidates and government officials.
Although the US Constitution specifically forbids legal religious requirements for officeholders, now, unlike 200 years ago, voters frequently prefer to vote for politicians they can identify with, who reflect their views and garner their trust. Thus voters generally entrust their vote to a candidate reflecting the majority faith in their district. Nearly every President has had a Christian religious affiliation. (See List of U.S. Presidential religious affiliations.) At least 90% of the 105th Congress from 1998 were known to be Christian, with Catholics, Baptists, and Methodists alone comprising over half of it [5]. Local demographics, and thus the religious affiliations of local politicians, are more varied.
In the 1600s and 1700s, many Europeans immigrated to what would later become the United States. For some this was driven by the desire to worship freely in their own fashion. These included a large number of nonconformists such as the Puritans and the Pilgrims as well as English Catholics. However, with some exceptions, such as Roger Williams of Rhode Island or the Roman Catholic Lord Baltimore in Maryland, most of these groups did not believe in religious toleration and in some cases came to America with the explicit aim of setting up a theocratic state.
Such history and beliefs were integrated into the U.S. Constitution with the passing of the Bill of Rights containing the First Amendment. The clause of the First Amendment that adopted the founders' principles of separation of church and state and freedom of religion is known as the Establishment Clause. It states, and notice the word Congress and only Congress, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...."
The interpretation of that clause is subject to disagreement. Some hold that the founders' intent was to prevent the state from mandating or banning any religion, while others, including the ACLU, hold to the view that no government — federal, state or local — can perform any action or make any policy which blatantly favors one faith or church over the others, or which favors belief in God or the Supreme being over non-belief. The latter position has been gradually adopted by the Supreme Court since the latter half of the nineteenth century, though the Court is not unanimous on this: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, an "originalist" who favors the Constitutional founders' interpretation and application of the Constitution, disagrees with the modern view.
The court-enforced separation does not extend to all elements of civil religion. By law, the country's currency now carries the motto "In God We Trust". Congress begins its sessions with a prayer, and since 1954 the Pledge of Allegiance contains the phrase, "one nation, under God". Court rulings have upheld these apparently religious references, viewing them as non-substantive "ceremonial deism" or utilizing other legal theories. Recent lawsuits have unsuccessfully attempted to challenge this view. Some expressions of religion on public property, such as certain displays of the Ten Commandments in courtrooms or Nativity scenes on public land have been recently ruled to be unconstitutional. The government is also permitted to restrict religious activities so long as these restrictions do not target religion specifically. For instance, a religious group can not perform human sacrifice under the veil of separation of church and state because the government views it as murder and murder is illegal.
Religion plays a strong role in national politics, especially in controversial moral issues like abortion, euthanasia, and homosexuality. Direct church-state issues also arise, currently including the question of whether or not school vouchers should be used to help parents pay for education at religious schools, and the status of the faith-based initiatives of the current President, George W. Bush.
The most prominent religious participants in national politics are Evangelical Christians, largely allied with the Republican Party and in the so-called Bible Belt of the Southern and Midwestern United States, but other Protestants (including predominantly liberal sects), Catholics, Mormons, Jews, Muslims, non-believers, and other faiths are also quite active. Some religious groups wish to increase the ability of government to make various religious expressions; they often emphasize the largely Christian demographics and history of the country, however it is also often used as an attempt to give state sanction to a majoritarian faith at the direct expense of the rights of minority religious groups. See Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe
It is common practice for national politicians with strongly religious constituencies to cite religious texts or beliefs in support of certain policies. In other areas voters may be more disapproving of expressions of religious faith by political candidates and government officials.
Although the US Constitution specifically forbids legal religious requirements for officeholders, now, unlike 200 years ago, voters frequently prefer to vote for politicians they can identify with, who reflect their views and garner their trust. Thus voters generally entrust their vote to a candidate reflecting the majority faith in their district. Nearly every President has had a Christian religious affiliation. (See List of U.S. Presidential religious affiliations.) At least 90% of the 105th Congress from 1998 were known to be Christian, with Catholics, Baptists, and Methodists alone comprising over half of it [5]. Local demographics, and thus the religious affiliations of local politicians, are more varied.
Gullible isn't in the dictionary.