"What is Education""

2 November 2005

Religion and the Constitution

Religion has been around for many years and people have their own definition of what it may be. The word religion by definition is the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods. However, everyone has their own view of what religion is to them. Many people go to church every Sunday while others may go to the Mosque within the week. The infamous speaker, Dr. Robert Bernstein discuss on the topics of religion and the constitution in regards to the first amendment. During the discussion, he talks about how each state has it own limits of religion. With this in mind, many conflicts can occur between the state and the religion in ordinance to the first amendment.

The first amendment states: "Congress shall make no law respecting or establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." The problem with this is that where does the state draw the line when religion is involved because everyone has his or her own definition of what it may be. Conflicts evolve when people follow a certain religion and then the state tries to make a set rule that everyone can follow such as going to school until your sixteen. The problem with this is that most Amish people believe that once their child is done with eight grade, they are educated enough for the rest of their lives. This can cause many conflicts because the state is changing the religion of the Amish people.

The speaker brought up some key points about how the government plays an important role in religion. Some of the concepts on why the first amendment is still intact are because of religion or other influential factors. Many people today have a better understanding of what religion is and how it can be accomplished within their boundaries. I think that religion will always be a crucial factor in determining who controls what and how people interact with each other.