Separation of church and state Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Separation of church and state - Essay Example In this writing, the second meaning of separation will be used and its importance will be discussed. Different stakeholders have hotly debated over whether the state and church should operate separately or they should operate hand in hand. According to Corbett, 62% of those surveyed during a research conducted in 1995 responded that the church and state should be separated and operate separately (Corbett 223). This means that if 62% are in favor of separation, then the remaining population was either against it or had a neutral view. Those who argue against separation state that religion can provide proper guideline to state and God’s word should be followed. There is a need to separate church and the state; the church should not be involved in guiding the legal principles of the state because it: is unconstitutional, unethical, leads to inequality, leads to irrational decision making and will destabilize United States. Body Church and state should operate separately and the c hurch should not be allowed to influence the legal operations of the state because it is unconstitutional according to the constitution of United States of America. The constitution of the US is a worded document that helps in making legal rules and regulations for the nation. The constitution of the United States comprises of a total of 10 amendments and these amendments are regards as the Bill of Rights and the very first amendments of the constitution states that the congress of the government of United States should not create laws in order to assist any particular religion (Rotunda 309). This means that if congress makes rules and regulations that favor a religious group, then they are indulging in an unconstitutional act. If congress is influenced by Christians and those who belong to churches, there is a higher probability that they will make rules and regulations that will favor only the Christians and such an act by the congress will result in an unconstitutional act. Anoth er reason due to which church and state should be separated is that it is unethical for the church to influence the state and state’s decision making. According o the utilitarian method of ethical decision making, decisions as well as actions should be scrutinized on the basis of benefits and costs they offer to the society and those decisions or behaviors should be regarded as ethical that result in highest amount of benefits and lowest amount of costs for the society as compared to any other decision or act that may be conducted under a particular situation (Pollock 29). If church influences the state and rules and regulations of a nation, it is more likely that a very small portion of the society will benefit and that will comprise of only those who are the followers of Christianity, while people following other religions will end up suffering losses and costs. According to the statistics provided by CIA World Fact Book, there are several different religious groups residin g in United States. Out of these religious groups, the majority is formed by Christians and among the Christians, 51% of people follow the Protestant churches and outnumber people who belong to other churches of Christianity and people who follow other religions (CIA World Fact Book 1). This means that if churches are allowed to make decisions or influence the decision making process in the government, it is more likel