Separation of Church and State

Separation of Church and State: Do holiday events at the White House and having clergy liaisons help or threaten the separation of church and state?

Dina d'malkhuta dina : The Law of the Land

"the law of the Government [in civil cases] is law," or "the law of the land is the law") is a principle in Jewish religious law that the civil law of the country is binding upon the Jewish inhabitants of that country, and, in certain cases, is to be preferred to Jewish law.

The principle of dina d'malchuta dina means that for Jews, obedience to the civil law of the country in which they live is viewed as a religiously mandated obligation and disobedience is a transgression, according to Jewish law. This general principle is subject, however, to the qualifications that the government enacting the law must be one which is recognized by Jewish law as having legitimacy; the law must apply equitably to all the inhabitants, Jewish and non-Jewish alike; and the law must not contravene the spirit of the laws derived from the Torah even if a particular regulation may be contrary to a provision of Jewish law.

Separation of Church and State in the USA

“Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” (Bill of Rights, Article 1)

The Johnson Amendment, passed in 1954, is a speech restriction in the tax code that prohibits all nonprofits—including churches—from “participating” or “intervening” in elections (though no one, including tax experts, really knows what that means); prohibits all 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations from endorsing or opposing political candidates.

Does the Johnson Amendment infringe on the First Amendment rights of churches and pastors because it allows federal bureaucrats to determine what pastors can and can’t say?

Jewish strict separationism dates only from the 20th century. Before that, Jews were generally willing to work within the prevailing assumption that government should be supportive of religion, rather than neutral toward it. Jews simply demanded that Judaism receive the same benevolence and privileges as Christianity.

https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/12/us/beliefs-jewish-views-separation-church-state-grow-more-complex-when-it-comes.html

Chancellor Shuly Schwartz (in reference to the White House Hanukkah Celebration)

"So when an invitation to the White House Hanukkah party popped up in my inbox, I was filled with emotion. Honored to be invited, I hastily replied that I would attend. But I confess that something continued to gnaw at me as the day drew near, for I grew up in an era when separation of church and state was understood to be a necessary safeguard of the liberty that Jews have enjoyed. My rabbi father would rail against nativity scenes in the public square, and the addition of a hanukkiah, or menorah, far from assuaging his concerns, only exacerbated them.

For my father and so many Jews in mid-century America, Madison’s view that “religion and government will both exist in greater purity the less they are mixed together” resonated. "

https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/at-home-in-americas-home/

Questions for Discussion

• Should public spaces hold religious symbols? (ie Christmas Tree, Menorah)
• What are the pros/cons of the White House hosting a Hanukkah celebration?

The Jewish historical experience as “strangers in a strange land,” often suffering from persecution as a religious minority, informs our support for a separation of religion and state in the United States

As Will Herberg, social philosopher and sociologist of religion best known for his book Protestant, Catholic, Jew reminded us almost 70 years ago: “neither in the minds of the Founding Fathers nor in the thinking of the American people … did the ‘separation of church and state’ imply unconcern with, much less hostility to, religion on the part of the government.”

Herberg’s words: “America is predominantly a land of minorities; that is its uniqueness, its strength, but to a degree also its weakness. Some way must be found in which these minorities within the national community may each freely pursue its own particular concerns without impairing the over-all unity of American life.”

Women's League of Conservative Judaism Statement on Separation of Church and State

While we are deeply committed to the fostering of religion in the home and by the synagogue, we are equally committed to the American belief that religion is private and personal and should not be controlled, interfered with or supported by government or state agencies. We believe that the principle of separation of Church and State has contributed greatly to the preservation of our democratic form of government and has strengthened religious groups in our country.

https://www.wlcj.org/resolution/separation-of-church-and-state/

URJ Statement on Separation of Church and State

The United States was the first nation in history to build its society on the foundation of separation between church and state. The First Amendment to the Constitution is the cornerstone of American religious freedom, ensuring through the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause that the government does not support religious practices, favor one religion over another or unnecessarily interfere with the private practice of religion. The founders of our country recognized that what makes religion so powerful is the unique and diverse ways in which people practice it. Separation of church and state is not only a moral issue but also a practical, legal, and political one. When church and state are mixed, it harms them both. When the government imposes on religion, religion loses the independence guaranteed to it by the Constitution.