The First Amendment is a cornerstone of the ideals of freedom in American society. The First Amendment can be assumed to support the idea of separation of church and state because it protects people from any forced religious activity or participation in religious practices in all aspects of public life. Court cases ranging from state appeals to Supreme Court hearings have ruled in favor of the separation of church and state due to constraints established by the First Amendment. The First Amendment protects the right to support or believe in any religion or lack thereof, while preventing infringement on the ideological freedom of others. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The judicial branch establishes the boundaries of constitutionality behind the separation of church and state through different interpretations of the First Amendment. The separation of church and state means that governmental and federal institutions are not influenced by or do not provide influence to a certain belief or ideology. The origin of the ideas behind the separation of church and state stems from our founding fathers in their attempt to create a safe and tolerant environment for the general population in our newly formed nation. A common argument against the separation of church and state is that our nation was founded with the support of Christian beliefs, as evidenced by our national motto "We Trust in God" and the pledge on our nation's flag which includes the phrase " One nation under God." Put into perspective, obviously the natural biases of our Founding Fathers' spiritual beliefs would show through the cracks in our country's foundation, but freedoms were clearly stated and granted to citizens to prevent America from becoming an oppressive federal force like the countries where many immigrants were. trying to escape into their era. Although the formation of our country was based on ensuring freedom for all, the separation of church and state remains a major controversy in the sphere of education. The line is drawn by funding at the federal level to determine when separation or nonseparation is considered unconstitutional or not. Because public schools are federally funded, they are subject to ideals of separation of church and state and are more often criticized as unconstitutional. Private schools, however, are privately funded and therefore have more freedom to include certain beliefs because a “gray area” forms. The confusion behind the public-private argument is rooted in the fact that the separation of church and state is federally based and supported, so private institutions are entitled to have their beliefs protected under the Constitution as well. Some education court cases concerned whether religious content could or should be taught, while others dealt with religious vernacular or slightly distorted practices used in some schools. One court case in particular, Abington School District v. Schempp, denied state-sponsored school prayer while another case, Wallace v. Jaffree, ruled that moments of silence were constitutional in public schools. People's freedoms are still protected in public or private schools, regardless of the differences between the two. Cases or topics involving the separation of church and state in the public sphere are a less common occurrence but still remain equally influential. Some cases went to trial.
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