Secularization from Civil War to 1930
Religious difference exists in all places worldwide. As a tool of conviction, religion is so sensitive that if it is not handled properly it can split a country causing civil unrest. It is instructive to note that the longest wars to have existed in the history of humanity were caused by religion. Due to its volatile nature, many countries including the United State (U.S) have decided to separate public life from religious practices (Andrew et al. 72). After the civil war to around 1930s, U.S has shown a continuous trend of separating State from religion in a process referred to as secularization of the State.
The major step that seems to promote the secularization of State in U.S was the adoption of the First Amendment to the Constitution. The need to separate the church from the State was emphasized in 1802 when President Jefferson wrote a letter to Baptists in Danbury, Connecticut. In the letter, he asserted that it was the purpose of the First Amendment to build “a wall of separation between Church and State.”
Justice Madison made the proposal to introduce the First Amendment to the U.S constitution. His Bill of Rights provision coined what would later be drafted to be the First Amendment. He proposed that the civil rights of no one shall not be infringed on the basis of religion, religious beliefs, or worship, nor shall any religion be established. The provision was interpreted in the case of Everson v. Board of Education. In this case, the court stated that that the First Amendment forbids any act that prefers and encourages one religion over another or all religions in the State (Andrew et al. 72).’’
The amendment prohibited the Congress from making any law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise of religion. The provision was adopted to eliminate all forms of religious influence to public life in America. Various acts of the States were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court when they appeared to have favored a religious group.
The second aspect that reduced the influence of religion to public life was State-sponsored institution that provided services to the people. Most of the institutions in U.S especially schools were owned and managed by religious groups. These institutions seldom admitted students who did not adhere to their religious practices (Daniel, 882). It was, therefore, cumbersome for ordinary citizens who did not belong to the sect to obtain service from the institution. However, in early 19th century the government took over most of these institutions and ran them in an indiscriminate ways. The State established publicly funded schools, Healthcare, and welfare safety nets to care for the unemployed and the needy in the U.S., and a role formerly played by religious groups.
However, religion was not suppressed completely to have lost meaning. Until 1930s, there were still some traces of religious influence to public life. Factors that are causing this included the First Amendment and the State itself. The amendment in all practical purposes only prohibited the establishment of religion in the U.S. however; other forms of support extended by the State for religion remained legal (Andrew et al. 93). Justice Douglas held this kind of support of in Engel case that once the government finances a religious exercise, it asserts a divisive influence into the society.
In 1899, a grant was offered by the Federal government to help construct a hospital owned and operated by the Catholic Church. The matter was taken to federal court with the plaintiffs asserting the violation of the First Amendment. Nonetheless, the court held that the hospital was a secular institution to benefits people from all religions, as well as non-believers (Kenneth, 98). The State had just provided financial assistance to a religious group making the doctrine of State secularism a fallacy. This was despite the fact that the First Amendment prohibited the State as well as the Federal Government from either openly or secretly promotes the affairs of any religious institution in such a secular environment.
In addition, it was difficult to separate the Church and the State during this period for governance reasons. The State would always engage the church when it sought to resolve issues between the church and other private individuals. For instance, the court confronted with a church property dispute could neutrally apply the existing laws to resolve the issue. However, it was forced to go through existing regulations with the church that governed its property rights. In the end, the court would inevitably apply doctrinal issues to resolve the problem (Daniel, 883). In such instances, if it were to uphold secularism, the court should have ruled that an argument over a matter of internal church governance could not be canvassed before federal courts as they were at the core of ecclesiastical affairs.
Besides, religious practices more often come up during social practices and events. Religion is also considered a system of actions that involve formal rituals and symbolic ceremonies to mark the major events taking place in the society. These rituals played an essential function for society as a whole (Kenneth, 201). When such events were organized by the State, it is normal to hear from the speaker thanking the Almighty in a religious manner depriving the function of its secular nature. Some would refer to these events as interdenominational in an attempt to assert neutrality of State. Nonetheless, the events still contain some aspect of religion that cannot be wished away.
Conclusion
It is apparent that religious practices were not totally eliminated in State practices after the civil war in U.S. the courts have long recognized that the Federal government could (and sometime must) accommodate religious practices even without violating the Establishment Clause. The statement shows how much impossible it was to maintain State secularism during this period. Anyone asserting total secularization of the State would be engaging in fallacious thinking. Whereas the level of State interacting with the church was greatly reduced during this period, the separation was not so much that the U.S State could be declared secular.
References
Andrew, K., John, C., Green, S., and Robert C. (2000). The Diminishing Divide:
Religion’s Changing Role in American Politics. Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press.
Casanova, J. (1934). Public Religions in the Modern World (Chicago: The University of Chicago
Press.
Daniel, J. (1985). The Americans. The National Experience (New York: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich.
Kenneth, D. (2003). Religion and Politics in the United States (New York: Rowman and
Littlefield Publishing Group.
