Christianity should play a part in how we run our government

This debate is more about the Separation of Church and state. But first, since this round is ONLY FOR ARGUMENTS, I will refrain from rebutting my opponent's arguments, although my arguments will naturally do this. -- Arguments -- C1: It is Unconstitutional The 1st Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or 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 resolution at hand explains itself. However, according to the first amendment, the government shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or regulating the free exercise of religion. If you make Congress make and pass a law that makes respects Christianity as an important part of the law (or any part at all), it is thus unconstitutional. If you make Christianity take a role of how our government runs, you are thus denying the same from other religions. Thus, Christianity would have a role in the running of our government, but Hindus would not, or Jews, etc. Thus, the resolution would go against the our precious freedom of religion and freedom from religion (if one so chooses). The 14th Amendement Section 1: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." So, government cannot deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process, and all have equal protection of laws. This concludes two premises; 1) Government cannot implement relgious aspects into laws because it deprives people of their liberty (to freedom of religion and/or freedom from religion) 2) Government cannot perform the above premise because some who are not Christian would not enjoy equal protection of the law which guarantees them freedom of religion The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 18: "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance only with the permission of the person and not by force." So, if our government implements Christianity into our laws, this abridges our freedom and conscience of religion. The article allows one to believe in a religion by themselves, and NOT by force. Supreme Court case: Everson v. Board of Education In Everson v. Board of Education, citing Jefferson, the court concluded that "The First Amendment has erected a wall between church and state. That wall must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the slightest breach." So, if Christianity was implemented into the way government ran, it would be unconstitutional. Consensus Here: Constitution bans government from implemening religious aspects into laws Constitution bans government from regulating/ denying people their freedom of religion and freedom from religion C2: What Separates Us This is a much understated argument. If the government respected and implemented Christianity into the way of running the government, it would basically put Christianity as the national religion. This has had disastrous results in other parts of humanity: - British Gov't denied citizens the Freedom of Religion and forced them to practice at the Church of England. The result was that Britain lost some of its citizens, a nation was formed, and that nation (the USA) transformed the world. Not diasastrous, but it was disastrous for the Monarchy of England. - Iraq Gov't with Saddam Hussein respected the Sunni Muslim religion as the head religion. The Sunni, Shia, and Shiite Muslims clash causing huge violence in the middle east that is still prevalent today as a result of Iraq abridging their rights. - President/ Dictator Diem of Vietnam puts in place laws against the Buddhist people. This angers them, making Diem unpopular, leading to his death, leading to instability in South Vietnam, then the War in Vietnam begins, the US goes there, then leaves, then Vietnam as a whole goes Communist There are other cases as well, very few with attractive results. Conclusion: Separation of Church and State is good and critical. Christianity SHOULD NOT play a role in how we run our government. The 1st amendent of the Constitution prohibits this, as it limits our freedom of religion and freedom from religion. The 14th amendment of the same document would be violated as well, because many would be abridged of their freedom of religion, as it violates the equal protection clause of that amendment to freedom of religion. All humans have certain rights, including freedom of religion that is not forced by a government. When a government runs according to religion, it is violating many people's rights to freedom of religion. So, it is violating our Constitution, as well as rights that all humans should enjoy as determined by the United Nations. Second, freedom of religion separates us from many others. Many other nations that have respected a national religion at its head have faced religious violence between members of different religions. The examples are numerous, including Iraq, the United States, and Vietnam. So, a high wall should separate church and state.“Politics is not religion and we should govern on the basis of evidence, not theology.”- President ClintonSources:[1] http://www.law.cornell.edu...[2] http://www.usconstitution.net...[3] http://en.wikipedia.org...[4] http://en.wikipedia.org...[5] http://www.usconstitution.net...[6] HistoryThank you.