Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Separation of non-monotheistic churches and State

Until recently, this was a non-issue to me, but I've come to understand how truly important it is to maintain distance between government and religion.  The separation of church and state seems to hold true, so long as one is talking about keeping non-Christian gods out of government, but it seems like the Judeo-Christian guy, God, keeps sneaking in on coins, bills, the pledge of allegiance, and the presidential inauguration

Several groups have filed a lawsuit to exclude "so help me God" from the end of the president's oath.  I whole-heartedly agree that there should be no requisite references to any particular religion/deity in government proceedings.  However, I also am glad to see that this lawsuit does not include the president-elect himself, because, "...he possesses rights as an individual that allow him to express religious beliefs." 

I think that is the fundamental difference that many people get upset over; Efforts to prevent religion from being taught in public science classrooms, or to exclude any reference to a deity from the pledge to our great country are not intended to silence anyone's personal views.  In fact, they are intended to to the opposite - to welcome and be inclusive of the multitude of cultures and beliefs that co-exist somewhat peacefully here. 

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