Separation of Church and State Essay

They felt that it was time the people were let free to practice what they believe and express their views and the only way to achieve this was to adopt democracy since theocracy did not provide a chance for such freedom. The other factor that probably led the founding fathers to rebel against theocracy was the fact the Church of England was being controlled by the king (Simpson, 1955). The experiences they had with Great Britain made them to relate with them in any way and had no desire of following their footsteps. Since theocracy was identified with the Great Britain then definitely America would reject it wholly. The last and very important factor that led to the separation of the church and the state was the diminishing influence of puritans during the American Revolution. When Puritanism was first introduced it strongly influenced the citizens and they believed in its absolute principles but when science started replacing religion Puritanism was no longer adored.

Comparing the features of democracy and theocracy, I strongly agree with the idea of separating the church and the state and oppose theocratic government.Religion is politically oriented and it must be recognized that the religious institutions can and must work hand in hand with government institutions in promoting justice, human rights, and peace. On the other hand having the government enforcing moral principles on behalf of a particular religious body would yield unequivocally disastrous outcomes. It is at this point that combining religion and politics proves very toxic. The founders and authors of the American constitution made the most appropriate move by separating the church and state. As much as religion motivates our spiritual lives, theocracy does not provide room for liberty and the only way to correct this is by separating the church and the state.

References

Fray, H.R. (2004). Theocracy in America: Its History and present danger, retrieved on October

6, 2010 from http://www.arockinmyshoe.com/p_theocracy.html

Schuldiner, M., (1994). Puritanism in America: The seventeenth through the nineteenth, New

York: Edwin Mellen Press.

Simpson, A., (1955). Puritanism in old and new England, London: University of Chicago Press

Ziff, L., (1973). Puritanism in America: New culture in a….....