Should Separation of Church and State be more Heavily Enforced? (US)

Rebuttals "I have personally seen religion being inserted into places it does not belong" I believe the opposite is taking place, that it is being taken out of society/government. Some examples are: A student praying aloud over his lunch is unconstitutional - Reed v van Hoven, 1965 Let's look at this case: Now, it was completely voluntary, students were not required to listen, the government was not "Respecting the establishment of a religion", which means that students were not excessively entangled, thus not in violation of the Establishment Clause. But notice it does not allow students to pray over a meal, a tradition in the Christian Faith, which "prohibits the free exrecise thereof."It's unconstitutional for students to voluntarily arrive at school to hear a student voluntarily read prayers before school starts. Prayers which have been offered by chaplains in the chambers of the House of Representatives and the Senate, mind you - State Board of Ed. v Board of Ed. of Netcong, 1970 The school adopted this resolution:On each school day before class instruction begins, a period of not more than five minutes shall be available to those teachers and students who may wish to participate voluntarily in the free exercise of religion as guaranteed by the United States Constitution. This freedom of religion shall not be expressed in any way which will interfere with another's rights. Participation may be total or partial, regular or occasional, or not at all. Non-participation shall not be considered evidence of non-religion, nor shall participation be considered evidence of or recognizing an establishment of religion. The purpose of this motion is not to favor one religion over another nor to favor religion over non-religion but rather to promote love of neighbor, brotherhood, respect for the dignity of the individual, moral consciousness and civic responsibility, to contribute to the general welfare of the community and to preserve the values that constitute our American heritage. [1] (emphasis added) Yet it supposedly violates the Establishment Clause, although the resolution states that the intent of the resolution is not to favor one religion over another not to favor religion over non-religion "First of all... 1957 to 1966." Let's now look at the reason that this legislation was passed. The first source that you cite gives us a brief (and yes it's brief this time) history of it: 'From Treasury Department records it appears that the first suggestion that God be recognized on U.S. coinage can be traced to a letter addressed to the Secretary of Treasury from a minister in 1861. An Act of Congress, approved on April 11, 1864,authorized the coinage of two-cent coins upon which the motto first appeared. The motto was omitted from the new gold coins issued in 1907, causing a storm of public criticism. As a result, legislation passed in May 1908 made "In God We Trust" mandatory on all coins on which it had previously appeared.'[2] The precedent stems from the increased religious sentiment during the Civil War. Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase, received quite a few appeals from citizens urging the United States recognize the Christian God on U.S. Coins. The first of which seems to date from 1861. On April 22, 1864, Congress passed the Act, putting the phrase "IN GOD WE TRUST" on the two-cent coin. In 1865, another Act passed, puting that phrase on certain gold and silver coins. When the motto disappeared, there was a lot of public dissaproval, so Congress passed a law that reflected the common sentiment of the American people, and made it law for that phrase to appear on our currency. [3] "Under God" in Pledge of Allegiance "The words of the Pledge echo the conviction held by the Founders of this Nation that our freedoms come from God. Congress inserted the phrase 'One Nation Under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance for the express purpose of reaffirming America's unique understanding of this truth..." [4] Drawing again from the Declaration of Independence, it states,"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creatorwith certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" They believed that we had certain unalienable rights endowed by by our Creator. "under God" signifies this idea of these unalienable rights and reminds us how paramount our rights are. The government cannot take your rights because they are endowed by a Creator, a God. I generally don’t agree with what Obama says. But there are a few occasions that I think that he is right. The following quote is one of those few times: A sense of proportion should also guide those who police the boundaries between church and state. Not every mention of God in public is a breach to the wall of separation - context matters. It is doubtful that children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance feel oppressed or brainwashed as a consequence of muttering the phrase 'under God.' I didn’t. - Barack Obama[5] My Defense Treaty of Tripoli According to Professor of History at Perdue University, Frank Lamber, this quote was “intended to allay the fears of the Muslim state by insisting that religion would not govern how the treaty was interpreted and enforced.” This is actually a reasonable conclusion. Allow me to explain.This negotiated during the Barbary Powers Conflict. These powers were warring against what they considered to be “Christian Nations.” The Barbary Powers constantly attacked undefended American merchant ships, and enslaved “Christian”seamen inretaliation for the Crusades and Ferdinand and Isabella's expulsion of the Moors from Granada. The Treaty of Tripoli was one treaty in which both nations recognized the religion of the other in an attempt to prevent a "Holy War" between Christians and Muslims. Consequently, it reads: "As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion as it has in itself no character of enmity [hatred] against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen and as the said States have never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries." [6] Jefferson's Quotes Notice How it says "Religious Sect. or Denomination," Meaning a subgroup of a Religion, not different religions. It is important to note that those that made the voyage to America to escape religious perscution, came because they did not agree with the Church of England not Christianity itself. Now what religion could Jefferson be speaking of? Using all the information I gave in Round 1, we could assume that he is speaking of Christianity.Protestants and Catholics are both Christians.Well, that was certainly a thorough history lesson to say the least. Why, Thank you."it is especially important to be inclusive with other groups since we are supposed to all have the right to life, liberty and property"Not seeing the connection between life, liberty, property and religion. Well, Maybe for liberty."Even in the establishment of Jamestown, the people came here so that they could practice their beliefs freely without punishment."Well, it's charter says otherwise: We, greatly commending, and graciously accepting of, their Desires for the Furtherance of so noble a Work, which may, by the Providence of Almighty God, hereafter tend to the Glory of his Divine Majesty, in propagating of Christian Religion to such People, as yet live in Darkness and miserable Ignorance of the true Knowledge and Worship of God, and may in time bring the Infidels and Savages, living in those parts, to human Civility, and to a settled and quiet Government: DO, by these our Letters Patents, graciously accept of, and agree to, their humble and well-intended Desires [7]Not enough characters to keep arguing.I look foreward to a great response!