Is law influenced by religion? It is not supposed to be or that’s at least what we have been told. There is a separation of church and state in our country although I do not think that separation is always as large as some would like it to be. Let’s think about it for a second, almost all of the found fathers believed in a “higher power” whether or not they were Christian. Franklin for example said that, “As to Jesus of Nazareth, my Opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the System of Morals and his Religion, as he left them to us, the best the world ever saw or is likely to see.” This shows how religion influenced one of the many founding fathers but there are also other examples that can still be seen or read today. In documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution there is someone that is referred to as the Creator and He. To me this shows that it was influenced by a higher power. Another example is the use of religious symbols on buildings in Washington D.C. Above the entrance to the Supreme Court building there is a picture of Moses holding the Ten Commandments with other various law givers throughout history. Also inside the building there are depictions of the law through the years. One of the people shown is Moses again with the Ten Commandments. I am not saying it is right or wrong for religion to have an influence on law, I’m just saying we would be foolish to believe that it does not.
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I totally agree that they are intertwined and do have direct influence on each other, and I will say that it is right for religion to influence the law.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100%. Look at our Pledge of Allegiance, "One nation under God". In Robs post, he made a point of the President being sworn in to office with his hand on the bible, and our currency, "In God We Trust." Religion definitely has an impact in our law system.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you religion is everywhere in our law today. An example of this would be to look at our courts and people that are called to the stand are asked to swear to tell the truth under God. I feel that it is best for our society because it allows the people to believe in the law themselves and not just have the government tell you to follow it.
ReplyDeleteI would like everyone to realize that separation of church and state is a concept of not establishing a state religion and not compelling individuals to practice a certain religion or any religion at all. It has been ruled by the supreme court that we can use religious symbols in a secular statement. Whether we like it or not, religion is based on history. We are free to believe whatever we like in our country. It is important to remember that many items can be viewed in different lights and religion has both a secular historical and religious aspect to many people. The supreme court has had a very strong position on both ensuring that the establishment clause is respected, i.e the government doesn't provide a single state religion and the free exercise clause, allowing any individual to exercise their belief in religion.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you because law there is a major separation between religion and law. Yes there are references to certain religions in the constitution and other documents but many of the laws that are available today do not follow religion. Abortion and Stem cell research are two practices that are legal in the United States but are against the beliefs of many religions. In addition, religious missions and beliefs are not put into consideration when making laws or decision for the country. Religious icons that are represented in famous documents like the Declaration of Independence show that people like to believe that there is a higher purpose or meaning in the universe. By stating that the word god or other religions meanings into the constitution does not mean were basing it on religion. By saying god were referring to something powerful and that’s what is meant when we reference god
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