Quote:
Originally Posted by nosreme
If no seperation (sic) of church and state in the US:
- scientific literacy would would become a thing of the past
- medical and scientific research would stagnate and regress. American medicine would become third rate. Diseases presently under control with immunizations would see exponsntial, society-threatening resurgences.
- society would become increasingly dumbed down as critical thinking is forced out of education
- non-religious parents would be driven to home-school their children in order to keep them away from religious-centric indoctrination in public schools
- there would be religious tests for public office and public and private employment and fierce inter-religious battles, some violent in the tradition of religions throughout the ages, for predominance
- laws would be enacted to fulfill religious agendas...same inter-religion battles as described above
- "free speech" would not extend to criticism of religions, religious practices, or the religious. Censorship would be rampant.
- non-religious people would be shunned, persecuted, and prosecuted
- the internet, which has undoubtedly caused the rapid awakening and long-overdue expansion and visibility of the non-religious, would come under state control
- the government would fund religions
- society would be irreparably fractured
- the US would become more of the laughingstock and butt of jokes of the civilized world more than is now the case
- etc, etc...benefits to US society of having a theistic state: None whatever
"Separation of church and state" is simply a plain-language description of the Constitution's Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. What "establishment" means, under our constitutional and legal system, is what the courts--particularly the Supreme Court--say it means. What they say it means is essentially "separation."
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I question why someone who is so opposed to religion would come into the religious discussions here? If your intent is simply to stir up trouble, you will find success but will not enjoy the consequences.
Every single point you made above is proven to be false by one simple fact.
The united states, when it was formed and throughout most of it's history, did NOT hold the present view of "separation of church and state."
There are Judao-Christian themes and writings on most federal buildings built more than just a few years ago.
The public school system used to use Judao-Christian writings in their lessons.
We chose "In God We Trust" as our national motto.
And every single point you made was proven false as we grew to be the greatest nation on earth, and led the world in education and scientific research.
Today, we have fallen from this leadership - and today we DO have the separation you speak of.
Israel has a firm amalgamation of church and state, and has had from their formation. And Israel seems to be doing quite well in research worthy of Nobel prizes.
The problem is, people who wish to repress the United States back into an atheistic state continue to point to Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and other such countries, claiming THEY are an example of what a religious state becomes, and this is simply not true. What these nations prove is what happens when a nation accepts a religion that teaches opposition to education, glorification of war and conflict, and the subjugation of women.
If we want to see the USA florish once more, we will not have a "church state", but we need a state that is ACCEPTING of the Judao-Christian teachings, and firmly OPPOSES the growth of Islam within it's borders.