Do you, as a U.S. citizen, support the general policy of "separation of church and state" in the United States?

This is for a speech I must give in class on church-state separation. I need to know how many U.S. citizens, whether part of a religious majority (Protestant or Catholic Christians, in the U.S) or minority (not Christian, in the U.S.), support the general principle of church-state separation, for any reason.
The first amendment explicitly states that our government shall not be able to designate a national religion, or prevent the free exercise of any religion. It has been decided that this should be interpreted as establishing a separation between church and state. The question is whether or not you agree, in general terms, with this interpretation.

The multiple Yes/No answers are necessary to determine whether groups in the religious majority or minority in the U.S. support church-state separation differently.

Votes	Answer
30	Yes (and I am non-Christian)
19	I am not a U.S. citizen!!
9	Yes (and I am Christian)
5	No (and I am Christian)
2	Not Sure (and I am non-Christian)
1	No (and I am non-Christian)
0	Not Sure (and I am Christian)

User	Comment
Jemmy	posted 18-Oct-2000 5:11pm I'm not a US citizen.
Maarten	posted 18-Oct-2000 5:25pm No yank here.
daver	posted 18-Oct-2000 5:30pm While I'm not a US citizen (or a Christian), I'll happily share my opinion anyway. I think that the idea regarding Congress and religious establishments espoused in the 1st Amendment to the Constitution is a great idea. I think the the phrase "separation of church and state" (which, btw, is from some of Jefferson's correspondence, not an official document) is prone to misinterpretation and has led to all manner of goofy laws.
North79	posted 18-Oct-2000 7:12pm I, as a non-US citizen, support the separation of church and state!
Zang	posted 18-Oct-2000 7:36pm I think that only televangelists should be allowed to run for public office. BTW I'm not a U.S. citizen, but I do have a gun in my glove compartment, so watch out!
mandy	posted 18-Oct-2000 7:54pm I'm not a U.S. citizen.
kirst	posted 18-Oct-2000 9:09pm I support the separation of Church and State (and I am Catholic). One interesting note, though...after teaching at a Lutheran school for the last four years, I would definitely consider sending my child to a religion-affiliated school. (Our school, though, had few Lutherans and many non-Christians...I'm not sure it would go over so well in the US...it doesn't matter, though, since we'll probably still be in Hong Kong for all or most of Claire's schooling.)
jettles	posted 18-Oct-2000 10:13pm i was brought up episcopalian but do not consider myself christian now, but yes i do support separation of church and state!!!
romkey	posted 18-Oct-2000 11:15pm absolutely! Separation of church and state is fundamental to the US.
mandy	(reply to romkey) posted 19-Oct-2000 1:11am Welcome back Romkeymonkey I MISSED YOU!!!!!!! kiss
supplicant	posted 19-Oct-2000 8:30am Alas, there was no option for me; I am not a U.S. citizen, but do not feel the need to shout that fact to the rooftops with gusto
jjg	posted 19-Oct-2000 8:44am I support the separation of church and state as Thomas Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers intended it. I do not support it the way it is currently practiced.
cpierson	(reply to mbowes) posted 19-Oct-2000 9:46am This isn't a very good forum to find out how U.S. citizens in general view anything. We're not a very representative sample of anything.
TeddyMiller	posted 19-Oct-2000 10:54am I support separation of church and state the way they practice it now, but think they haven't gone far enough in some cases. I was just on jury duty, and the courtroom had a large "In God We Trust" on the front wall. What's that mean, they're officially relying on supernatural intervention to correct judicial mistakes? I thought it was inappropriate and a First Amendment violation to have that there.
romkey	(reply to mandy) posted 19-Oct-2000 1:38pm konnichi-wa, mandy-san!
kaleb777	posted 19-Oct-2000 4:37pm Not a US citizen
Kristal_Rose	posted 19-Oct-2000 8:43pm You should have added yes/no for other religious persons, and changed the remaining yes/no for non-religious people. A period of prayer in school would be fine as part of free excercise, but the school should send out instructions to the parents to give their children personal guidelines on how to use the time. That way children may read, pray, or meditate all by different methods, and not see patterns for peer pressure, or even necessarily guess what faith their comrades subscribe too.
Kristal_Rose	(reply to romkey) posted 19-Oct-2000 8:47pm mushi mushi I hope I wasn't misinformed on that phrase.
mandy	(reply to romkey) posted 19-Oct-2000 9:01pm bows smiles
natsim	posted 20-Oct-2000 12:17pm I think it's a complete joke that people in the US believe they have separation of church and state. If they really did, why do they care so much about the personal faith of their politicians. It's one thing I have found completely bizarre while living here. Just my 2c worth.
Kristal_Rose	posted 20-Oct-2000 12:45pm Adherents of any value system would wish to be represented by the representatives of their democracy. The state doesn't necessarily decree any particular faith, but the popular vote of the religious affects the policies made. I don't see how it could be any other way unless you had a country in which everyone more or less has the same religious values to implement, or the country isn't a democracy.
natsim	(reply to Kristal_Rose) posted 20-Oct-2000 3:58pm You could have a country less obsessed with religion! Or a country where most people vote? Point taken. But it doesn't negate the close connections between church and state here (particularly Evangelical Protestant churches and the state). The abortion and homosexuality debates are not nearly so political in other countries, because they are (usually) not discussed in religious terms at the political level as I have seen. And never have I heard a politician say "God bless Australia". It's just inappropriate. Sorry... I'm starting to rant.
Kristal_Rose	(reply to natsim) posted 20-Oct-2000 5:36pm God save the Queen? So do they not involve religion in talks of abortion legislation, is their less opinion on abortion to legislate, or is there as much opinion but not handled through legislation?
msgman	(reply to Kristal_Rose) posted 23-Oct-2000 3:58am The Queen is a person, and it's therefore appropriate to pray that God will save her. There is nothing in orthodox Christian doctrine which supports the idea of asking God to bless a particular country.
Kristal_Rose	posted 23-Oct-2000 4:29am But the nation of Egypt was cursed with plagues, and moses led his people to the promised land of milk and honey (vegetarian nirvana). {I am opposed to the notion of blessing one country or people above another}
msgman	(reply to Kristal_Rose) posted 23-Oct-2000 7:01am It wasn't the nation of Egypt that was cursed, it was the people of Egypt that were cursed for keeping the Israelites as slaves and not wanting to let them go. The Israelites (i.e., the descendents of Israel, aka Jacob) were specially blessed, but this was a blessing on them as a people-group not as a nation-state. But in any case this is Old Testament (Jewish) stuff; the New Testament specifically states that "in Christ there is no Jew or Gentile".
natsim	(reply to Kristal_Rose) posted 23-Oct-2000 9:04am Politicians don't say God save the Queen anymore. Thankfully. There is less division on abortion. There is less legislation on abortion, and few politicians speak of religion when talking about abortion. Surprisingly (gasp!) women's health is the major issue discussed in reference to abortion.
TheBlackAdder	posted 28-Oct-2000 12:25am There is no such policy. I don't know how one would come to the conclusion that God is to be left out of politics after just one reading of the US Constitution. Furthermore, I maintain that there is no place for anyone to impose someone else's doctrine on another person. Government should act accordingly.
tecknode	posted 1-Nov-2000 11:19pm You missed an option. Yes/No "(I am non-religious)" That is, does subscribe to any religion.
mrknowitall	posted 9-Nov-2000 11:51pm I am for the separation of Church and State but not in the extreme as we have taken it. When our nation was founded, the Founders only wanted to keep the Federal Government, Congress, from establishing a national religion. That is all it was meant to do, and all it should do. Each state should decide for themselves who far they want to take the issue.
mireillens	posted 19-Dec-2000 12:50pm I grew up in a Catholic household & am Wiccan now...I have always believe that they should be seperate & kept so. So does my family, so add 4 more people to your list for yes.

Last
Advanced_Stats

If you'd like to vote and/or comment on this survey, please Sign On

Link this survey: http://surveycentral.org/survey/6254.html

Hits: 1 today (4 in the last 30 days)

Last	Type	Created	Category	Creator	Sort	Votes	Hides	Rating
Last	single	18-Oct-2000	politics/religion	mbowes	by votes	73	8	55.1%