Separation of Church and State

A lot of the attention and/or pressure that the church receives from the state or secular culture, today, comes from the history of an inseparable church and state. Even though we have come a long way since when the Roman Empire and the Catholic Church were one, we are still paying the price for all the damage done. This is one of the reasons why we have activists, representing various groups, working hard to change church doctrine and practices. 


The church, as an institution, has failed to address human rights issues in the past, due to fear and political affiliations, and this has led to people believing that doctrine was the issue. The scripture is filled with love and the right kind of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We can have different backgrounds, possess different gifts, fall short in different ways, but be united and equal under God through Christ. We are one body of Christ instructed to show we are His disciples by our love. The church needs to interact with the secular world in a non-political way, one that honors God more than a person or people group. 


We learn, from history, that the leading class dictated  the religion that the state subscribed to. This resulted in the marginalization of those who believed something different. Before Constantine made Christianity the de facto Roman religion, Christians were imprisoned, burned at the stake, fed to the lions, and tarred and feathered. Once Christians were granted religious freedom, other religions started losing theirs. This is the natural way of things when a religion and the state are one. 


A lack of separation between a religion and a state is not good for the citizens because a new regime brings a new set of laws and beliefs. The general populis ends up associating the religion with the state, resulting in people rejecting an otherwise good religion. The state intervenes when the church members, the state’s citizens, are abused or breaking the law. As Christians, we should understand that we are dual citizens: citizens of Heaven and citizens of the state. 


The perception that the church needs to change with society is in the minds of many policy makers and secular thinkers, because they believe that the church and state are inseparable. Many Christians even fall into this same trap, when the truth is that the state should not have a religion. Separating the church from the state will allow the church to exist, whatever the religion of the ruling class, as long as religious freedom is upheld. Members of the state need to be taught about religious freedom so that we can all live the lives that God has given us the freedom to live. This does not mean that the members of the church or religion cannot participate in matters of the state, but it does mean that they should not mold the state in the image of their religious beliefs. They are not there as advocates of their religious organization, but as representatives of their constituency. 


The church removing itself from the state is the key to preserving doctrine. If we do not separate from politics, we will go down with the politicians. We might find ourselves made in the image of the state, and not God, with scripture resembling the constitution. The state starts making amendments to scripture and creeds like it does to its laws. The church needs to learn to trust that God will defend Himself as they stand firm on His word. God is with us, and since He has drawn close to us, we can draw close to Him. The only thing we need to do as dual citizens, of the church and state, is live Christ-like and vote to preserve our freedom of religion.


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