All of the references are contained in the Declara

All of the references are contained in the Declaration and NOT in the Constitution which, again, is the governing document.

That you misunderstand anything that basic means this argument is over.

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-it didnt say anything about religion staying out of govt.

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Really? So which religion should be 'in government'? And once that religion is 'in', which religions and their believers are 'out'? Because, you know, the 'power of the sword behind one belief, woe onto the others'. What if YOUR belief isn't the 'winner'?

See the history of religious wars in Europe for your answer.

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A Simple Explanation For Those Who Don’t Seem to Get Why Religion Should Stay Out of Government

December 22, 2013 By Allen Clifton

Hi, I’m Allen. I’m a liberal and I’m also a Christian — you know, something many conservative “Christians” believe isn’t possible. To many of these people, liberals are basically the anti-Christ.

I guess it’s because we actually believe in equal rights, helping the poor, giving access to health care for every American, and that we should accept people who are different — not judge them.

Beliefs straight out of the bowels of hell, I tell ya.

But this is the thing about religion — nobody is right and nobody is wrong. That’s why it’s called faith. Especially in a country where freedom of religion is one of the cornerstones on which this nation was founded.

I am free to be a Christian, Muslim, Buddhist — or nothing. Isn’t that awesome? Hell, I could identify with a different religion every single day of the week if I really wanted to. Nobody can stop me.

I can be a liberal Christian and someone else can be a conservative Christian. And we can drastically disagree on damn near everything. Hell, we do.

So as a Christian, I disagree with my conservative counterparts about homosexuality and a host of other issues.

That’s about it. We disagree, and that’s why laws have no business being based on religion. As far as human rights go, it shouldn’t be a debate. Every human should be given the same rights — period. That’s not a religious belief, that’s common sense.

But some people interpret their religion as not allowing for that. Religious beliefs that tens of millions of people disagree with.

Again, it’s a good thing we have a separation of church and state in this country (or at least we’re supposed to).

Here’s a great rule I think we should live by:

If there’s a God (as Christians believe there is) who will judge us for our “sins” in life, let’s just go ahead and let God handle that once we’ve passed on.

Until then, practice your religion privately (or in places meant for religious practice) and let’s let public life be handled based on general human rights — not any specific religious set of beliefs.

Because even within the same faith people can’t agree, so how can one faith set rules for everyone? Especially in a country based on religious freedom.

Seems simple, right? I think so.

Because as far as “faith” goes, nobody is really right and nobody is really wrong. Well, at least not in a country with religious freedom like we have here in the United States. We might all disagree with one another, but that doesn’t “prove” someone’s religion (or interpretation of their religion) is right or wrong.

It just means we have a difference of opinion about our own personal religious beliefs, or lack thereof.

That’s what makes the First Amendment so wonderful. We’re given the right to privately believe whatever we want to believe without fear of prosecution.

Keyword being privately.

Or am I wrong? Has every Christian — and American — agreed on one singular religion? If so, then by all means let’s set rules based on those principles.

Too bad that will never happen.

So, since it won’t happen — let’s just go ahead and leave religion out of government. You know, the whole “freedom of (or from) religion,” just like our First Amendment promises.

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Question: The first amendment to the US Constitution states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Americans United seem more interested in the establishment clause, while churches tend to be more interested in the clause about freedom to worship. Do you think you and the churches are seeing eye to eye when it comes to separation of church and state issues, or are you looking past each other?

Answer: I don't think you can have the free exercise of religion unless you have strict government neutrality on the question. If there is no decent distance between government and religion you will never have the freedom to worship in the way you want. There will always be a fight for government to impose the majority will on others, and governments are good at doing that if you give them the opportunity. The fact that these clauses are intertwined is what leads to real religious freedom.

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