Great Misconceptions - The Separation of Church and State

Many Americans pride themselves on the assumption that there is a separation of Church and State in the United States. This assumption is false because there has never been a true separation of Church and State in the United States, and there probably never will be.

The realism of a separation of Church and State would be if the religion did not have a significant influence on the decisions of people in political power. This separation would also mean that Churches and church groups did not have any power in influencing decisions that were made in government.

During every election, we have seen a growing number of Church leaders that have made an attempt to pressure their religious communities to vote a certain way. The influence of these leaders has significantly changed the way that people vote.

Some of these leaders have gone so far as to tell their community members that they would go to Hell if they voted a certain way. This has a profound effect on some voters.

There was a motion in many States and in the Federal Government for a while that suggested about furthering the separation of Church and State. This motion would take away the tax-exempt status of any Church where the leaders attempted to sway the voters in one way or another.

These motions would have banned any Church leader from making any statements about the Government or governmental policies. Many Church leaders then pressured their membership to contact their local Representative, and to pressure that Representative to vote against this proposed legislation.

This attempt to further the separation of Church and State brought the two sides closer together. If the State is not allowed to make legislation against the Church, ten the impact of the Church will continue. Also, if the State attempts to pass legislation against the Church, the Church influence grows.

There would truly be a separation of Church and State if a President did not have religious leaders as advisors. If a President refused to listen to certain religious leaders, the support for that President would fall lower then any other President in history.