Religion in the USA: ' Religion flourishes in greater purity without than with the aid of government. '

Résumé du document

"Religion is belief in a god or gods and the activities that are connected with this belief, such as praying or worshipping in a building such as a church or temple.? (Collins Cobuild - Lexicon). Thus religion seems to be the basis of some specific kinds of communities (communities of beliefs and practices), but not of political communities. Why then do some people argue that religion and the State should be bound together? As a matter of fact, should religion depend on the State, and could it benefit religion?

Extraits

[...] However the piety of kings does not explain everything. The structure and rules of the society in which they lived probably played a more fundamental role in giving considerable influence to religious leaders. We should keep in mind that, between 1642 and 1661, when Louis XIV was still too young to rule over his realm, the chief Minister of France was a Cardinal (Cardinal Mazarin, wikipedia). This was made possible by the political rules of the 17th century, which did make a strong distinction between church and State in France. [...]

[...] It underlines the fact that, when religion and the State are bound together, religion is led to serve the State rather than to benefit from its support. There still remains a lot to say about this subject but I shall not extend further, since I have already written too much. To conclude I think that religion can offer us treasures of wisdom, truth and happiness that can be extremely precious, and this is probably the main reason why it would be shameful to spoil them through turning religion into a mere tool of a State or a government. [...]

[...] This explains why religion should be independent from the State because, as Alexander Solzhenitsyn put it, “When Caesar, having exacted what is Caesar's, demands still more insistently that we render unto him what is God's that is a sacrifice we dare not make.” (Wald p 69). References - McLoughlin, William G., Revivals, Awakenings, and Reform. An Essay on Religion and Social Change in America, 1607-1977, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London: 1978 - Wald, Kenneth D., Religion and politics in the United States, Lanham, Md. [...]

[...] As a matter of fact this commitment from the State is probably not free from bias or self-interest, and that is why religion may eventually “flourish in greater purity without ( ) the aid of government”. In fact, The King” used the Catholic Church as a tool in order to found his legitimacy (his power was regarded as given from God), and to reinforce his laws. As a result he made religious leaders very powerful people, but he also made them depend on him. [...]

[...] It is at that time that solid bonds between religion and the American nation were established, through several successive religious “Awakenings”. William G. McLoughlin pointed out that “Awakenings have been the shaping power of American culture from its inception” (McLoughlin p 1). Furthermore, in his Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln addressed a kind of jeremiad to the American people, in so much as he claimed that nation as a whole was complicit in the sin of slavery”. Thus he considered the sufferings of the nation as God's punishment for its sins. [...]