Arhivă :: Publicaţia 14/2005 :: The Point
The complexities of religion and state
Professor Derek H. Davis gave a talk in Tîrgu Mureș last Friday about separation, integration and accomodation of religion in the USA. His views are not necessarily ones that coincide with the views of the American government.
The American system embraces "three distinct yet inter- related sets of rules: separation of church and state, integration of religion and politics and accommodation of civil religion". Though religion and state are generally accepted as separate and independent in America, the well-known national motto "In God We Trust" still fundaments the American way of life. However, Davis suggested that "separation...describes the institutional separation of church and state". This means that in America, churches "receive no direct government funding" therefore being encouraged to function independently and autonomously" since "they function better if neither has authority over the other".
On the other hand, church and state cannot be totally separated, argued the professor, who also said "the right of churches and other religious bodies to engage in political advocacy ... has never been seriously questioned". Moreover, Davis gave as example President Bush's electoral campaign, where the President spoke freely of his faith. This special awareness of religious issues may have been decisive for the way the citizens cast their votes. Davis suggested that "it is unlikely that a candidate for president could be elected in America without some candid talk about his or her religious views".
The accommodation of civil religion means "giving sacred meaning to national life". Davis mentioned common signs and symbols of American civil religion like the aforementioned national motto. One of the problems with raising the American civil religion to constitutional status is that civil religion, may become a "threat to authentic religious faith". Davis added that the civil religious traditions are "violations of a strict notion of the separation of church and state".
The discussions that followed revealed some interesting issues that apply to Romanian society today. The matter of the Romanian state giving funding after 1990 for the construction of many orthodox churches, even in villages where the population belongs to a different confession, was also brought up by a Swiss citizen involved in the protection of human rights in Romania.
