Church And State

For our final Argument unit we learned about contradictions in arguments as well as how to find them and fix them. We continued our focus on the United States Constitution, especially issues related to civil rights, and found many flaws, in our opinion. Each of us chose an important issue to focus on and share our beliefs on, as well as how people disagreeing with our beliefs feel. In this unit I was most proud of this Action Project because I think it covers an important topic that is highly unjust.

Thesis
The topic I chose focused on the separation of church and state, and for the US to follow through on its own church-state separation laws. This is important to me because I know people of all religions who are Americans and I believe it’s unfair to them to not uphold these laws, not only because it goes against the 1st Amendment’s protection of freedom of [any] religion, but also because it clearly prioritizes and embraces Christianity. There are multiple cases showing this: many public schools still require their students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, part of which includes pledging themselves to “one nation, under God”, and the Star-Spangled Banner, which has a line stating “and this be our motto, In God we trust." It even says “In God We Trust” on the dollar bill. All of these examples go against many cultural beliefs and against the 1st Amendment. Not only do some people not believe in a god at all, but certain religions aren’t allowed to swear themselves to another supreme being.

On the other side of things, even some Christians don’t want their religious beliefs being included in state’s rights. For example, the Jehovah Witnesses objected to adding “under God” since they won't swear patriotic or other oaths. So, both non-Christians and some Christians even don’t agree with this law not being followed through.

Antithesis
However, on the other side of things some people, predominantly Christians, may argue that “religious viewpoints are inherently embedded into the political system,” claiming it is detrimental to keep the two together. They believe not only that it is crucial in politics, but that changing the way things are would be taking away their freedom of religion.

Synthesis
People who don’t want anything to change ask how things would change if we suddenly enforced this more. The people who want this change ask how is it fair to have such a clear preference of Christianity when America is for people of all religions? Both sides have the same main argument claiming that this is simply their way of expressing the first amendment; however after the research I’ve done, I still believe the government should stick more strongly to its own law about Church and State. I still don’t think they should be favoring one, which they clearly do to this day.

Pro Life on Campus: A First Amendment seminar (2015)

Evidence of Dialect
Work Cited

• Pledge of Allegiance. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance
• Separation of church and state in the United States. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state_in_the_United_States
• State/Church FAQ. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2015, from http://ffrf.org/outreach/item/14030-pledge-of-allegiance
• Tyler, J. (2012, November 14). Church and state must coexist, not remain separate. Retrieved March 17, 2015, from http://kykernel.com/2012/11/14/church-and-state-must-coexist-not-remain-separate/