Religion vs state
Religion and State: Friend or Foe As far back as one can read you will find that religion and state has evolved with one another, hand in hand. From the Mayan societies over 4000 years ago to present day, religion and state has always been there. However, the roles and the goals of religion and state have always been different. The state wishes for the improvement of its peoples’ lives in a physical and materialistic way, while religion seeks the development of the spiritual aspect of its people. ... Instead, religion and state together have undermined each other’s basic philosophies and thus have turned each other into enemies. This essay will bring forth four major arguments of how religion and state have undermined their each other’s philosophies and therefore shown that they are in fact, foes of one another. As I have mentioned before, religion and state have been a part of society through out the ages. In the past, religion was the greatest factor in society, especially in Western Europe. The Catholic Church had a strangle hold on the state and the people of the state. ... This power and control that the church had, over the state and its people, extended to its views and opinions. ... This in turn becomes harmful to the state and most importantly to the people of the state. ... It believes in advocating tolerance and understanding of other peoples and their beliefs, but when there is leader of a very large religious community saying these kinds things, it shows that there is a threat to our society, our state, our people and its philosophy that it is based on. Prior to and during the period of Enlightenment, when religion had taken its one view and forced it upon its citizens of the state, it had shown its ignorance and intolerance. ... ” As mentioned before, this is only one of many instances in the past where religion has gotten in the way of free thought and speech. The Catholic Church, in this instance, is limiting the people of the state to only one view of life and nature, their own. ... In theocratic governments like Iran, where the government is the religion, this lack of freedom is evident. ... Department of State released the Iran Report on Human Rights Practice for 1996. ... ” In a theocratic state, where the religion and state are working together as one, these sorts of injustices and inhumane practices are occurring to its own citizens. ... How can a religion professing understanding of others, treat their own people as such? Thus, even in states where religion and state are one, they cannot work together for the benefit of state or the people of the state.