Flags in Church

[BadenP]

There is a good reason our Founding Fathers put into the Constitution a clause for the seperation of Church and State.

[BklynEagle]

>There is a good reason our Founding Fathers put into the Constitution a clause for the seperation of Church and State. <

 

Yeah, to protect the Church from the State.

[TheScout]

Funny, I don't remember that clause.

[BklynEagle]

Technically speaking, TheScout, you are correct: there is no clause that specifies "Seperation of Church and State". Having said that, there is Aticle VI, Section 3: "... no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States", as well as the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, specifying that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion". Additionally, there is the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, though its original intent was with regards to race.

[evmori]

There is a good reason our Founding Fathers put into the Constitution a clause for the seperation of Church and State.

 

There is nothing in the Constitution about the separation of church and state.

[BadenP]

You guys are really something what do you think it means that "Congress shall pass no law regarding the establishnment of any religion.", and Article XI "no religious test shall EVER be required for any office or area of public trust." ? They knew politics and religion did not mix well and should be kept seperate to prevent the new republic from possibly becoming a potential theocracy. You can interpret it any way you want but they knew 200+ years ago these two institutions for the benefit of the people had to be kept apart. "Pass no law over the establishment of any religion" and "no religious test" means neither would have control or influence over the other. You should have paid better attention in your high school government classes, lol.

[NJCubScouter]

Neither the Establishment Clause nor the Religious Test Clause restrict the conduct of religious organizations. They restrict the conduct of the government. (Of course, if a particular religion was ever to attain a dominant role over the government, it might be difficult to tell the difference; that is one of the very things these clauses are designed to protect against.) So, while it would be a problem for the government to fly a religious flag in its buildings, it is no problem for a church, synagogue etc. to fly the American flag. No constitutional problem, anyway -- it is up to whoever governs that religious organization.

 

In my own religion (Judaism) it is common (at least in Reform congregations) to fly the American flag in the sanctuary. (In the U.S., of course.) A somewhat more contentious issue has been the flying of the flag that is used as the national flag of Israel, but is also considered the flag of the movement for the return of the Jewish people to the Holy Land. The prevailing opinion is that because the return to the Holy Land is part of Jewish doctrine, the flag has a place in the synagogue as the symbol of that belief. It isn't merely the flag of a foreign country. (Of course, if I were to go into a "national church" in the United States, for example a Ukrainian Orthodox Church, I would not be surprised to see the national flag of the Ukraine, but the analogy is not a perfect one.)

 

(Edit: Typo)(This message has been edited by njcubscouter)

[Jeffrey H]

My Baptist church has a US Flag and a Christian in the Sanctuary. Flags are optional for each local church. Some churches don't have them because they have never purchased them. It's not always a theological position.

 

It's important to note that our US Flag is not in a position of prominence. It's way off to the side where it will not distact the prominence of the Cross.

 

The primary reason that we have the US Flag in our church building is because we are thankful that we live in a nation where we can worship and practice our faith freely.

[Woapalanne]

From an earlier post: ".....as well as the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, specifying that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion"."

 

Common partial statement. What many people forget is the other part of the Amendment, which is commonly ignored (or even denied) in this nation today. That part says "or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

[Merlyn_LeRoy]

Where, or who, is ignoring or denying the first amendment in this nation today? Please be specific enough so lawsuit(s) can be filed.

[Eagle92]

Actually what I find interesting is that at the time the Constitution was written, several of the states did have state religions. One reason why Congress cannot pass a law establishing a religion.

[evmori]

I think Woapalanne was referring to what people quote, Merlyn.

[dg98adams]

Dad, theyre real serious about math at that school. Didnt see what happened to the guy who didnt do well in math? They nailed him to a plus sign and hung up reminders in every room.

 

Now that's funny.

[perdidochas]

BadenP,

 

As written, the First Amendment prevents the state from interfering in church matters, not the other way around. Simply said, the government cannot establish a state church, nor can it interfere with worship. There is nothing about the first amendment that prevents church from interfering with state. The Constitution cannot control entities that are not part of the government.

[bacchus]

Eagle92,

I think that's exactly why the 1st Amendment was passed.

 

We don't have a flag in our chapel. We do, however, have the US flag, and some scout flags, in our scout room. We use them in the scout openings in our cultural hall (gym). We do have a flag on a pole out front.