Religion : Should It Be Part Of The Court System?

All United States citizens have rights. We have the five functions of the government: to form a more perfect union, to establish justice, to insure domestic tranquility, to provide for the common defense, to promote the general welfare. As independent individuals in America, we are supposed to abide by these laws. We endure these laws. However, we are also taught to stand up for what we believe in. The 1st amendment confirms that there will be no tolerance for discrimination towards others’ religious beliefs. It states:

Summary: The division between church and state is a gray line that is often crossed and argued about. For example, Gwen Wilde, the author, argues that the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance requires people who do not believe in God to recite something they do not necessarily believe in. If a person chose not to say the full Pledge, including to utter the words “under God” they run the risk of being called unpatriotic. The author continually argues that the words “under God” add a religious doctrine that not all Americans believe in.

The freedom of religion has been essential since the day colonists began to flee from Great Britain to America. America was, and is, a place they could come and be free of persecution for what they believe. Unfortunately, over the course of history,

First, The Freedom of Religion plays a vital role in our society today. We as Americans have the freedom to praise any religion or god we want, we’re also not mandated to have any religious beliefs if we choose so, though that that was not always the case. In the colonial days of Pre-America, there were laws mandating that our ancestors had to attend a house of worship. But, not only did they have

It has been ruled that the Pledge of Allegiance being mandatory at schools is unconstitutional. So, the students of varied religions are free to follow their beliefs and if students of different nationalities feel that saying the pledge is dishonoring their own country, they are also free to choose not to say the pledge.

The very first amendment, added to the Constitution in 1791, contains guarantees of freedom of religion. According to Michael Kessler, “faith is the free movement of will”, which ties into the freedom of expression. You can willingly express your faith in the United States without the prosecution of the government. All of the Founders did believe that freedom of religion was important. Establishment clause and the free exercise clause give different opportunities of those who believe or practice a specific religion. Also, there are reasons for and not placing limitations on the exercise of one’s beliefs.

On March 24, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Elle Grove Unified School District vs. Newdow over the decision that the words, “Under God”, in the Pledge of Allegiance. Michael Newdow, being an atheist, did not want his daughter to learn of a “false” or “fake” God. He did everything in his power to try and get the phrase removed from the pledge and from society all together. Newdow states, “And every morning my child is asked to stand up, face that flag, put her hand over her heart and say that her father is wrong”. Although the 9th Circuit Court originally agreed with Mr.Newdow’s contention, the court stayed the ruling after a national uproar ensued. People did not want someone who has a biased thought process to decide whether or not a simple phrase in the pledge, should be removed. Newdow states, “For 62 years, this pledge did serve the purpose of unification, and it did do it perfectly”. Newdow does not want anything to do with any God in this world just because he has a biased thought

So, let us return to the term "Christian Country." This term has two general definitions. First, and most acceptably, it can simply demonstrates the fact that the majority of American citizens are Christian. There is no problem with this use of the term, as it is simply a statement of verifiable fact. This discussion revolves around the second definition: that America is a country founded on the beliefs of Christianity and

Each morning, millions of students across America recite the Pledge of Allegiance, the thirty-one words that essentially summarize the meaning of being an American. The pledge was intended to bring Americans together and unite them. However, two out of these thirty-one words, “under God,” contradict the United States Constitution, which protects the freedoms of Americans. There are many different religious beliefs in America. Religion for many people is seen as a sensitive subject, and it may cause a breakdown within the people. Therefore, the Pledge of Allegiance should be interdicted so that we, Americans, can have our rights that we deserve.

Not only is freedom of religion important in the constitution, but the freedom of speaking up for oneself and community.

The religion of Christianity is a practice that has been apart of the American nation since it’s early founding, but what is the United States relationship to Christianity? In this class we have discussed three very different versions of the “Christian Nation” dialogue in the books that we have read throughout the semester. These books include John Fea’s Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?, Matthew Sutton’s American Apocalypse: A History of Evangelicalism, and Kevin Kruse’s One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America. Each book gives a different interpretation of the relationship between the United States and the religion Christianity, and how this relationship shaped the United States to the country that it

Every single person in the United States have the right to express their religion of preference or no religion at all, however him or her wants without offending anybody, and the best way to protect religion’s liberty was by keeping the government out if it and creating this First Amendment freedom of religion, to separate the church from the state.

Freedom of religion was understood as a form of liberty and it excluded the state from restricting individual engagement in religious practices without giving a legitimate reason. Moreover, later judgments have shifted in the description of the liberty to equality. According to the courts, the freedom does not prohibit the state coercion in matter of religious conscious, it requires that the state must treat religious belief systems or religious communities in an equal manner. The state must not support or prefer the religious practice of one group over another, and it must not restrict the religious practice of a group, unless it is necessary. The state may support or facilitate private religious activities when it does not involve the preference for a certain religious belief

respect to religion: the right to be free from government-imposed religion and a right to practice

The first amendment prohibits the government from declaim one particular religion the “American religion”. If it is supposed to be separate then why do we use the Bible, a Christian symbol, in court to swear upon it before saying a word? The Court does this because the Bible is meaningful to most people in America and the government needs a symbol with meaning to swear upon, otherwise people will lie in court.