“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”
These were the words of none other than one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson.
Though that passage is heavy, let’s focus on the last sentence: “thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”
The separation of church and state is an important one, so important in fact that it is the very first Amendment of the Constitution, in which it states that: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”.
This should seem like common sense, no?
The United States is a diverse place, especially in 2024. Our First Amendment right is being directly violated as many states such as Texas, Idaho, and Missouri have put laws into place stating that abortions are illegal, partly due to the fact that the Bible states that life starts in the womb.
This mixing of church and state is not a mild violation, it is directly hostile. By tearing down that wall that Thomas Jefferson and our other founding fathers so vehemently believed should be between church and state, we are also violating citizens 14th Amendment right, and endangering their lives in the process.
Our fourth amendment right gives us the right to bodily autonomy, regardless of the rules the government puts into place.
In Montana alone, one of our two main candidates for senate, Tim Sheehy, believes that, “the most precious gift from God is life and that we have a responsibility to protect and defend the most vulnerable in our society,”referring to Sheehys stance on abortion rights and bodily autonomy.
Sheehy is using his personal religion to justify violating not only our First Amendment right, but also our Fourteenth.
Sheehy also wants to put Christianity into schools, stating, “…above all, we need leaders in Washington to stop things like drag queen story time from replacing the Lord’s Prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance in our classrooms.”
Sheehy believes it’s OK to discriminate against other religions and identities, implying that they are indoctrinating our children, but it is apparently OK to force Christianity on the entire population of Montana’s children.
According to the World Atlas, only 65 percent of Montana adults are Christians, meaning that this potential law would not only go against the very foundation of our nation, but discriminate against 35 percent of Montana citizens.
When you’re running for a political office position, you are not claiming to represent a part of your citizens, you are representing all of them. Therefore, actively trying to push your personal religious beliefs in public schools is unconstitutional and discriminatory.
These quotes were not pulled from speeches, tweets, or past comments. They were pulled from his campaign website.
Mixing state and church is an essential aspect of Sheehy’s campaign, regardless of the constitution, and he is only a local example.
Many conservative candidates around the country are tiptoeing along the line of claiming religious freedoms and violating amendment rights.
You are free to practice Christianity, along with any other religion under the sun, in public spaces and your home as long as you don’t harm anyone.
What you are not free to do is force your religion upon anyone else.
That doesn’t only apply to the general public, but also to our political leaders.
Overall I find it scary to think that our government is picking and choosing which of our rights to honor, such as our right to bear arms, and which of our rights to violate, like our right to bodily autonomy and religious freedoms.
