Church and state must be separate

A settlement was finally reached in the long-standing dispute over a historical display at the Washington County Courthouse in Salem, Ind., that includes the Ten Commandments alongside such historical documents as the Mayflower Compact and the Gettysburg Address. Last week's settlement will change the monument to include displays of other historical law-givers and documents, such as King John, the Magna Carta, Thomas Jefferson and the Bill of Rights. \nIt's ironic the Bill of Rights is being placed in the same context as God's laws, because the two should be kept far apart for the sake of law. \nThis controversy is a prime example of the so-called "slippery slope" so is often referred to in Supreme Court decisions -- the first, seemingly innocuous step leading to serious violations of the Constitution. Disallow one form of expression here, allow one search and seizure there, and before long the whole fabric of the country's laws comes unraveled. The First Amendment says pretty clearly, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." \nThe debate over the two clauses contained in that sentence has spanned many decades and hundreds of court decisions, and no clear definition of an "established" religion really exists. But it's not really a stretch to imagine the Ten Commandments in front of Washington County's central legal building as religious promotion. After all, the first commandment states, "I am the Lord thy God, ... Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Not exactly a secular message. \nThis isn't Indiana's first foray into mixing church and state. U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker ordered an injunction against the state's plan to erect a massive monument engraved with the Ten Commandments on the statehouse lawn. The monument was then sent to another county, but has since been removed. \nThe most popular argument for keeping the Ten Commandments prominently displayed in occasions such as these is historic: Our country was founded on the Ten Commandments. Most of the founders believed in them and many of their edicts are mirrored in our own government. These arguments are all valid, but the founders also believed in keeping church and state separate. \nThey never wanted their personal religious beliefs to enter into government, no matter how deeply-held. The only mention of religion in the entire Constitution are two clauses restricting the government's involvement. These are not the actions of anyone who intended what Washington County is attempting. \nNo one is saying the Ten Commandments don't have worth. No one is stopping anyone from following them or believing in their god. What they are doing is enforcing the Constitution, and the settlement in Salem is the first step toward tearing apart the most sacred laws in our country.