Religion and Government

Religion and Government
Name
Institution
Date
Religion and Government
Abstract
This paper demonstrates a timeline with five historical events that occurred in years pre-2000 and five current events that display the relationship between the American government, society, and religion. Authors indicate events that happened in history which prove religion and legislation are inter-related. The facts in this paper show how different religious occurrences initiated by former presidents and lawmakers determine outcomes in the American legislature. The paper equally shows how numerous states in the US eradicated formal proceedings from the church (Billitteri, 2010). Daniel (2002) illustrates how former Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison intertwined religion in the House of Representatives and the nation at large during the period of 1801 to 1817. In current times, Aernout (2012) exposes how the 9/11 attack created a rift between Christians and Muslims. In 2009, Catholic bishops took part on legislation decisions of overall national health care. This paper through various authors outlines critical historical events that regarding the church, legislation, societal, and religion

Historical Events Demonstrating a Relationship between American Government, Religion, and Society
Religion and government are entities that require their independence to thrive. However, evidence from the past has shown that these two entities cannot function in complete dissolution from each other.

It is important to note that though religion and government are entirely different regarding ideology, their ideologies run parallel to one another. This essay examines how the relationship between the American society, organized religion and government since the Mayflower Compact by the pilgrim. The timeline in the context will demonstrate five historical events that took place before the start of the 21st century and five current events that depict this relationship.
1620: The pilgrims who were separatists from the Church of England signed a compact on the English ship, Mayflower to form the Plymouth colony, at a territory now within the USA (Navin, 2010).
1801-1817: Through 1801-1809 in the tenure of Thomas Jefferson and 1809-1817 in the term of James Madison, the Washington state turned into a place of worshipping God. Both presidents attended church services at the House of Representatives (Kay, Gaucher, Napier, Callan, & Laurin, 2008).
1802: Thomas Jefferson made a reply, ‘wall of separation’ to Danbury Baptists that largely defined the relationship between the religion and the government in later years (Dreisbach, 2002).
1826: The inaugural Catholic mass by Bishop John England occurred in the House of Representatives explaining that God did not give church any power to influence the civil rights of the people (Tate, 2009).
1833: Various states within the USA eliminated formal relationships between the State and the Church (Billitteri, 2010).
2001: Al-Qaeda attack on 9/11 deepened the anti-Muslimism sentiments in the US, which strained the relationships between the American people and the Muslims in the country (Nieuwenhuis, 2012).
2002: High profile allegations of child sexual abuse by the Catholic Church clergy were reported in the US (Cossen, 2002).
2009: Catholic bishops played an active role in shaping the legislation on national health care by pushing for the inclusion of a clause in the bill that stated that no insurance plan subsidized by the federal government would cover abortion (Parker, 2010).
2012: Political commentators argued that Romney’s Mormon faith cost him his presidential candidature in both 2007 and 2012 (Clemmitt, 2012).
2015: Some Christian faithful refused to serve gay couples following the decision by the Supreme Court in the same year granting people of same-sex right to marry (Karaim, 2016).
Conclusion
From the timeline, it is evident that religion is inclusive in the critical functions that establish political dynamics within the American society. It influences the creation of legislation that governs citizens. Religion also affects the choice of the leaders elected into office because American people tend to consider the religious affiliation of their leaders. Religion and government authority are tremendously influential in the American community. It is common for US Presidents to end speeches by invoking religion when they say “God Bless America.” It is, however, imperative to note that religious influence on the governance in American has continued to dwindle in the recent past.
References
Billitteri, T. J. (2010). Government and religion. CQ Researcher, 20, 25-48. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/
Clemmitt, M. (2012). Understanding Mormonism. CQ Researcher, 22(37), 25-48. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/Cossen, W.S. (2002). Catholic Church abuse scandal. The Arda. http://www.thearda.com/timeline/events/event_313.aspDreisbach, D.L. (2002). Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation between Church and State. New York: NYU Press.
Karaim, R. (2016). Religious Freedom. CQ Researcher, 26(1), 25-48. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/Kay, A. C., Gaucher, D., Napier, J. L., Callan, M. J., & Laurin, K. (2008). God and the government: Testing a compensatory control mechanism for the support of external systems. Journal of personality and social psychology, 95(1), 18.
Navin, J. (2010). John Billington and His Family (c. 1582-1630): Doomed ‘Knave’ of Plymouth Plantation. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.Notes: In Karen Racine and Beatriz G. Mamigonian, eds., The Human Tradition in the Atlantic World, 1500-1850: 13-26.)
Nieuwenhuis, A. J. (2012) State and religion, a multidimensional relationship: Some comparative law remarks, International Journal of Constitutional Law, Volume 10, Issue 1, 1 January 2012, Pages 153–174, https://doi.org/10.1093/icon/mos001Parker, L. (2010). Powerful Catholic Quietly Shaping Abortion, Health Bill Debate. National Public Radio. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124522463Tate, A. L. (2009). Confronting Abolitionism: Bishop John England, American Catholicism, and Slavery. Journal of the Historical Society, 9: 373-404. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-5923.2009.00278.x