There is a wrong definition of separation of church and state and there is a right definition of separation of church and state.
Some of my fellow believers will argue that there is no such thing as separation of church and state at all because such language is not found in the Constitution of the United States. That's like arguing that the Bible doesn't teach the doctrine of the Trinity because the word "trinity" is not found in the Bible. The important thing is that the meaning or concept is there even if the word isn't there. For example, we know that Israel in the Old Testament was a theocracy (which means a nation ruled by God), but the word "theocracy" is not found in the Old Testament.
The U.S. Constitution simply says that Congress cannot establish religion or prevent the free exercise thereof. In the context of our country's history, the writings of our founding fathers, and the Constitution itself, all that this means is that there can be no state church (as was the case in the history of European nations). In other words, people or citizens of the United States cannot be forced to belong to any particular religion or particular Christian denomination. It doesn't mean that religious beliefs cannot be held or expressed by persons in politics or government.
Someone's personal beliefs will always be expressed in politics and government whether those beliefs are religious or not. What right does the atheist have to express his or her personal beliefs in politics and government but yet deny this same right to those of faith? Someone's personal beliefs will always influence public policy. People of faith should not be excluded from expressing and influencing public policy anymore than atheists and agnostics should be prevented from expressing and influencing public policy with their beliefs.
The key is a delicate balance and a respect for all within a rightful context. Minorities have rights but so do majorities. In this politically correct society of ours the rights of majorities are being totally ignored and trampled upon!
*Some other Internet articles by the author are: "Why The Traditional View of Hell Is Not Biblical", "Artificial Life By Intelligent Design", "Creationists Right On Entropy, Evolution", "Are There Natural Limits To Evolution?","Intelligent Design On Another Planet?", "Where Are All The Half-Evolved Dinosaurs?", "Christ Was Begotten, Not Made". The most up-to-date versions of these and other articles may be accessed at: Babu G. Ranganathan's Articles.
The author, Babu G. Ranganathan, is an experienced Christian writer. Mr. Ranganathan has his B.A. with academic concentrations in Bible and Biology from Bob Jones University. As a religion and science writer he has been recognized in the 24th edition of Marquis Who's Who In The East. The author's articles have been published in various publications including Russia's Pravda and South Korea's The Seoul Times. The author's website may be accessed at: www.religionscience.com.
