Separation of State from Church

Most of us perceive separation of church and state as a safe guard to minimize the influence religious organizations have over government and public policy. In his article “China’s Lesson on Freedom of Religion,” Richard Garnett argues that we need to look at this division from the church’s and the government’s perspective. By illustrating how the Chinese government controls and reprimands religious institutions, Garnett concludes that in order to uphold the “wall” between church and state, we must protect religious institutions from government intervention. He states, “The point of the separation is not to prevent religious believers from addressing political questions or to block laws that reflect moral commitments. Instead, ‘separation’ refers to an institutional arrangement, and constitutional order, in which religious institutions are free and self-governing--neither above and controlling, or beneath and subordinate to, the state.” Therefore, in order to preserve religious freedom we must ensure that government does not interfere with religious institutions.

There have been points in American History when churches believed that their sovereignty was infiltrated. In 1978, the IRS planned to eliminate the tax exemption that religious institutions and churches had based on the Green v. Connally decision. William Martin states that the Religious Right saw this “as a transparent attempt by their government to impose secular philosophy on their children by using the excuse of racial discrimination to obstruct Christian education.” (Martin 169) It is understandable that the Right would feel that their sovereignty was being undermined, but the reality is that tax exemption is a privilege not a constitutional right. According to the First Amendment, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” At no point does the Constitution mention specific privileges for certain churches; the document just assures the right for its “establishment” and its “exercise.”

In contrast, the situation in China today is completely different than America’s in the past or even today. The Chinese government is naming archbishops and other religious leaders and bypassing the church’s sovereignty. This would never be allowed in the US because the United States is a democracy where the people support this separation, and elections greatly influence the way government acts. The main difference between the two countries is the ideology that governs them. Therefore, will there ever be a time when the American people decide to end the separation of church and state? If there is, could we end up like China?

Martin, William. With God on Our Side: the rise of the religious right in America. 2. New York: Broadway Books, 2005.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/03/chinas_lesson_o.html