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God V The Government: The Showdown Essay

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In 1787, the newly autonomous United States search for a legislative foundation; a foundation they found within the astute and forward-thinking minds of our founding fathers. These courageous men set up guidelines for which all American citizens were to conduct themselves. These stipulations, detailed in the United State Constitution and further defined in the Bill of Rights (1788), were obligatory for all American citizens. The Bill of Rights first Amendment states:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free Exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the Press; or the right of the People peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. …show more content…

Our ancestors, the "first" settlers of this country came here to escape religious persecution. Often in past European societies, churches were pawns used by governments to scare citizens, gather damaging information and advance government ideologies. Even today, many countries such as Iran continue to use these oppressive devices. Moreover, it is commonplace in the Middle East for religious extremists to use Mosques to recruit terrorist and spread their anti-western message. In historical Europe, those who condemn the English Church were referred to as separatist. These separatist, our ancestors, left England to establish a country based on the principles of religious freedom. If we were to instill any one religion as the upholding ideologies of our country, we would fail to uphold our founding principles. The Church of England eventually recognized the flaws in a single-religion-based government and reformed the church, due to Charles II, to be the "middle ground religion" of English society. We must learn from history and not make the mistakes of our forefathers. As a child, I grew up in what is known in the United States as Bible Belt. Because of this upbringing, I was exposed to religion intermingled with government/state issues at a very young age. At the time, I was indifferent to prayer before a football game or an orated Bible verse over the intercom after the Pledge of Allegiance. These things didn't negatively affect my life or those around me, or

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