Which Church Controls the State?

It is my firm belief that there should be separation of church and state as we understand it in the United States -- that is, that both church and state should be free to operate, without interference from each other in their respective areas of jurisdiction. We live in a liberal, democratic society which embraces wide varieties of belief and disbelief. There is no doubt in my mind that the pluralism which has developed under our Constitution, providing as it does a framework within which diverse opinions can exist side by side and by their interaction enrich the whole, is the most ideal system yet devised by man. I cannot conceive of a set of circumstances which would lead me to a different conclusion.

John F Kennedy, the first Catholic President, wrote those words in 1959. At the time, he was running for the Presidency and there was a great fear among many in this country of having a papist in the White House. Questions were asked whether Kennedy was "too Catholic." It was 1960 and the talk was that if John Kennedy was elected president, then the Pope would run the country. See The Partial Observer.

I was raised a Catholic and although I was young, I can remember the big deal being made of Kennedy's religion (I went to a Catholic grade school, so the nuns made sure we knew all about it). So today, I find it amusing when I hear the Evangelical Christian Right now call for the walls separating Church and State to come tumbling down.

I ask myself -- if so, who's Church gets to rule the state? Clearly, the country is Christian by a wide margin (over 80%). Yet, within the definition of "Christian" are many denominations. Is it majority rules? I would assume so, since we run pretty much everything else in this country that way. If so, the Catholics win. Within Christian denominations, Catholics constitute 24,5%, with Baptists coming in quite a bit behind at 16.3%. See Largest Religious Groups in the USA.

The Christian Right or Evangelicals are not a particular religion, but a group of various religions who share a common beliefs. In fact, some Catholics may even fall within this classification. Being "born again" is not limited to a set denomination, but is one of the criteria for being under the umbrella. See Defining Evangelicalism. Although the numbers may be large (and increasing), they cover too many different religions to count as one true faith in and of itself.

So, it would be more appropriate to stick with a recognized theology when deciding who should be in charge of melding Church and state. If so, we're back to Catholic. With the influx of Latinos in this country, who are traditionally Catholic, I assume that Catholics will control for the foreseeable future. Since that's the case, we should think about adding an annex in the White House for the Pope.

Now, of course, the Christian Right obviously hasn't given this much thought, since they arrogantly assume that they would have the keys to the front door of power. But no -- the Catholics rule. This, of course, would prove troublesome for the Christian Right. Catholics may not be as bad as Mormons to the Christian Right, but that does not mean the Fundamentalists feel any great affinity for Catholics. See Uneasy Alliance: Conservative Catholics and the Christian Right. So, rather than fixing the problems, we've just created new ones.

This whole exercise is just my way of showing what a bad idea it is to try to join Church and State. What we have now is lots of religions, lots of views. The country works because it keeps them separate from the state. Pray where you want (if you want). Government should stick to governing. We have lots of problems, so there's plenty of work to do.

This is my contribution to the Blog Against Theocracy.



(For more JFK quotes on Separation of Church & State, see Positive Atheism)

Tags: Blog Against Theocracy, Religion, Separation of Church and State