Separation of Church and State

Paper Summary:

The paper explains that by the state refraining from influencing the church, the moral principles of the people will be upheld. The paper examines the views of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington on the separation of church from state. The paper notes that the Founding Fathers did not mean for individuals within the ranks of state government to remain neutral, but instead intended that the national government should not enforce mandatory compliance to any religious belief or form of worship.

Outline:
Statement of Thesis
Introduction
Jefferson's 'Wall of Separation'
Separation of Church and State in the View of George Washington
Tolerance is the Call-word for Government in Religious Matters
Gross Violation of the Tolerance Principle
Summary and Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The work of Daniel L. Dreisbach entitled: "Origins and Dangers of the 'Wall of Separation' between Church and State" states that: "No metaphor in American letters has had a greater influence and law and policy than Thomas Jefferson's 'wall of separation between church and state." (2006) Furthermore, this figurative language has been affirmed by member of the judiciary evidenced in the assertion of U.S. Supreme Court Hugo L. Black in 1948 who writes that there was agreement among the justices that: "...the First Amendment's language, properly interpreted had erected a wall of separation between the Church and the State.""

Sample of Sources Used:

• Dreisbach, Daniel L. (2006) Origins and Dangers of the 'Wall of Separation Between Church and State" IMPRIMIS National Speech Digest. Hillsdale College. October 2006.
• Challans, Timothy L. (2007) Rawls versus Habermas on Religion, Politics and War. School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) International Symposium on Military Ethics (ISME) 2007.
• Cherniss, Joshua (1998) 'Tis Time to Part: Renovating the Wall of Separation between Church & State. Yale Journal of Ethics, Spring, 1998.
• Leo Pfeffer, Church and State Freedom. Boston: Beacon Press, 1967, p.1.
• Updike, Lorianne (2005) The 'Wall of Separation Between the Church and State': Constitution Fact or Fiction? Sutherland, J.L. & Public Policy L:22 online available at: http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:gDCZrO9g-FsJ:www.sutherlandinstitute.org/uploads/thewallofseparationbetweenchurchandstate.pdf+SEPARATION+OF+CHURCH+%26+STATE+AND+THE+RELATIONSHIP+BETWEEN+PUBLIC+AND+PRIVATE+MORALITY&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us

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