By Alexa Hernandez | Social Media Editor
The separation of church and state goes far beyond a legal principle. It is a foundational pillar of our democracy that upholds freedom of religion, speech and a right to equality. In an increasingly diverse world, where multiple religions and non-religious beliefs coexist, the entanglement of religious beliefs with political power endangers the core principles of equal rights and government neutrality.
One of the main reasons we need to maintain a firm separation between church and state is to protect the right of religious freedom for all. When a government authority endorses a particular religion, it leads to unequal favoring of the constituents of that religion. This discriminates against all others who don’t identify with that specific religion. The First Amendment gives people the right to freedom of speech, the right to assemble and more importantly, freedom of religion.
This favoring creates a hierarchy where minority religions, agnostics and atheists are relegated to second-class status. The government and state should be impartial entities ensuring everyone’s freedom of belief and worship, not just those whose religion aligns with the majority or political power.
Over the past few years, there has been a rare understanding that your religion dictates your political beliefs. If you are a Christian, you’re automatically far right. If you are an Atheist, you’re automatically far left. And that is simply not the truth for many Americans, like myself.
As a Catholic woman who believes in the teachings of Jesus Christ, I care deeply for the Church’s moral authority. However, I am also a firm supporter of making the clear distinction between church and state. This might seem contradictory, but I believe it is not my place to make decisions based on my faith that affect others who don’t affiliate with my religion.
Catholic teaching places a strong emphasis on the role of personal conscience. While we are guided by church teachings, we ultimately must form and follow our conscience in moral matters. This respect for conscience is another reason why we cannot impose any religious doctrines through state power.
The government’s role should be to protect the rights of all citizens, regardless of their religious or philosophical beliefs. This will let each person follow their conscience freely, whether that leads them to embrace the Christian faith, another religion or no religion at all. Enforcing religious beliefs through law undermines the freedom of conscience that is essential to our faith.
For all Christians reading this, the separation of church and state is not a rejection of our faith. By advocating for a secular and unbiased state, we promote justice, protect the integrity of our faith and respect the dignity of all people. Our focus, and the focus of those in power, must be on building a fair and compassionate society for all. One that does not use the power of the state to enforce our religious convictions.
