Religion in Government

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the increase of those advocating religious influence in public forums such as the school system. The paper looks at the issue of church-state separation in general and focuses on two of the attempts to influence government with religious belief that are currently being debated in the public. These are the Christian right's attempts to re-introduce creationism into science texts and the controversy surrounding school-sponsored prayer and religious establishment by the school district. The paper concludes that although these religious groups claim that they are only exercising their right to free exercise of their beliefs, they ignore the counterpart of that liberty; the right to be free of government establishment of religion.

From the Paper:

"Young children have long been viewed as different from the rest of society; they are prohibited from participating in certain activities (such as drinking or consenting to sexual relationships) and in the place of their own judgment, that of their parents or guardians is made the legal standard. As such, parents have the right to input regarding their children's education, what media and social influences their children are exposed to, and which religious influences are parts of their children's upbringing. This right has been upheld in Supreme Court jurisprudence from both political camps (Yoder, 406 US 205, 1972 and Newdow, No. 02-1624, 2004). Parental discretion regarding religious influences on their children is a nearly inviolable principle as interpreted by the Supreme Court."

More papers on Religion in Government:

• Term Paper # 91891 : "Religion in Government"
• Essay # 87155 : "Religion in Government"
• Argumentative Essay # 89078 : "Religion in the Workplace"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: