I always thought of the separation of church and state as a one-way street; church shouldn't have its hand in government. But here we see the reversal occurring where the government is interfering with the churches obligations. Personally, I take a lenient view on immigration, so I support the church here. But this story has got me thinking about the separation of church and state... is it possible for them to be utterly and truly separated? Especially considering that the state is made of people who may hold religious views? I need to think about this a little more.
Dear Enich,
ReplyDeleteStop being so much smarter/more thought provoking/deeper/ taller than me.
You have to pick at least three out of the four options.
XXOO,
Beth
Enich, This is a really, really complicated matter. One distinction to keep in mind: church/state does not equal religion/politics. The first are institutions, the second are dimensions of life. Your comment about the people is key. DeAne
ReplyDeleteI love this point. I feel that too often we view the separation of church and state as an entirely necessary thing (which it well may be) because the church would have a negative effect on the state. It's interesting to see this particular Alabama church more interesting in our common humanity than in what separates us - which is definitely a positive aspect all of us in the state can be reminded of sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI feel like this is just another instance where we have to pay attention to a road of moderation, where we must have conversations across this makeshift "separation", to avoid the extremes of religious fundamentalism and legalism. That is, assuming we look at it as literally church----state. I suppose this is a point we could carry into all areas though. Dialogue is something that's missing in America.
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