Question

The founding fathers protected religious freedom in America and guaranteed it’s free exercise by stating that “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” analyze this statement and compare and contrast it to the phrase “separation of church and state” how are these ideas connected? Please help!!

Answer 1

Explanation:

To start with, the statement - “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” is known as the establishment clause.

The clause prohibits government from making laws that respect the establishment of religion. It also prohibits government from establishing an official religion as well as initiating actions that serve to favour a particular religion over another.

From the provisions of the clause, it is obvious that government is meant to remain neutral to all religions as the clause requires that government should neither respect, elevate nor favour religions.  

It is important to note here that provisions of the establishment clause define the concept of separation of church and state. In other words, they are connected and communicate the same message.  

The summary of the message is that the church and government are separate entities. As such, the state or government ought not to do things that show support for a particular religion.  

Neither is it for proper for the state to compel citizens to be steadfast with, or practise a particular religion because it would amount to violation of citizens rights to religious liberty.