Separation of church and state issues

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Municipalities' and states' use of
religion in displays, mottos, & crests

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Quotations

	"Americans are being denied the right to express their religious speech in the public square." Ralph Reed, Christian Coalition.
	"There is no such source and cause of strife, quarrel, fights. malignant opposition, persecution, and war, and all evil in the state, as religion. Let it once enter our civil affairs, our government would soon be destroyed. Let it once enter our common schools, they would be destroyed." - Supreme Court of Wisconsin, Weiss v. District Board, 1890-MAR-18.

Overview:

The 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as interpreted by the courts, guarantees that:

	individuals have freedom of religious expression and practice;
	the government and its agencies will not recognize one religious faith as more valid than any other faith;
	the government and its agencies will not promote religion above secularism or vice versa.

These principles are continuously in a state of creative tension:

Many Americans feel that America was founded by Christians and remains a Christian nation, since about 75% of its population regard themselves as Christians. They would like to see their religion represented in municipal religious displays, etc. Any restrictions would be regarded as an infringement of their religious freedoms. Some would like to see all other religious excluded.

Other individuals, both Christian and non-Christian, are opposed to their municipal government or state using religious symbols, displays or phrases. They feel that a wall of separation must be maintained between religion and governments at all levels. They regard this factor as outweighing any personal religious considerations that they might have. Many feel that the relative lack of religiously-motivated violence in the U.S. -- compared to that seen in the rest of the world -- is due to this principle of separation.

Topics covered in this section:

	Municipalities' use of religious displays: crosses, nativity scenes, etc.   Display of the "Seven Aphorisms" by Summum -- a religious group
	Municipalities' use of religious symbols: in their crests & seals The debate over the Redlands, CA, logo A typical "cultural" Christmas display which is constitutional
	State use of religious phrases: in their motto

Related essays:

	Separation of church and state issues
	U.S. court rulings on separation of church and state
	Organizations dealing with separation issues

Links to web sites which deal with separation issues:

	"The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State," at: http://members.tripod.com/ is a web site that is totally devoted to this topic.
	A site with a list of links to other Internet locations dealing with separation of church and state is at: http://members.tripod.com/

Copyright � 1998 to 2005 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Original publishing date: 1998-AUG-5
Latest update: 2005-DEC-18
Author: B.A. Robinson

Web ReligiousTolerance.org