The Separation of Church and State in America.

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Lillian Reilly

11/24/2012

Research Paper

                The Separation of Church and State in the United States of America.

The United States of America does not have adequate separation of church and state, and this lack of separation promotes inequalities in the rights of citizens in the country. In our constitution each person is guaranteed the right to the pursuit of happiness. The lack of separation of church and state is debilitating the ability of certain people and groups to pursue what makes them happy. In the current society women can be denied health care by employers if the employer feels will it violates their religion. This injustice has come to pass because, in government, the availability of birth control is viewed as a religious issue when, in actuality, it is a women’s issue. Same-sex couples cannot enter into marriage largely due to campaigning by religious entities and religious stigma surrounding homosexual relationships, resulting from a scriptural statement saying that homosexual activities are wrong. Students in public schools can feel excluded or prejudiced against because they do not subscribe to the same religion, belief system, or have the same sexual orientation as the majority of the student body. Students who feel like they do not belong or that they are being bullied have historically not done as well in school as other children, and are more than twice as likely to take their own lives as children not being bullied.

Working women can be denied birth-control by their employers if their employers feel that it violates their religious preferences. Under Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, employers either have to offer their employees health insurance or they must pay a penalty. Per this health care system employers can deny contraceptive coverage under the explanation that birth control violates their religious beliefs. In actuality this restriction of their healthcare is an imposition of religious beliefs on the women being insufficiently covered. The supposed justification of the denial of contraceptive coverage is that it is an issue of religious freedom, when in reality it is a womens rights issue. Contraceptive coverage is an issue of women's health and not an issue of religious right.  A persons ability to receive birth control should not be affected by their own or anyone else’s religion. Officially, the catholic church does not support the use of contraceptives. Regardless of this 98% of catholic women over 30 have used some form of contraceptive in the past (nytimes.com/top/news/health).  52% of catholic respondents said that religious institutions should have to offer contraceptive coverage to their employees (nytimes.com/top/news/health). The catholic church has refused to support this new legislature and many catholics and members of other religious groups have rallied against it, believing that their religious rights are being taken away. “Never before has the federal government forced individuals and organizations to go out into the marketplace and buy  product that violates their conscious” (Archbishop Dolan, http://cnsnews.com/video/national/cardinal-designate-dolan-vows-fight-obamacare-rule-we-cant-afford-strike-out-one).  Archbishop Dolan believes that by forcing employers to offer contraceptive coverage to their employees the  government is violating a  person's religious religious rights when in actuality they are not forcing the employers to buy birth control, they are only giving the option for the employees to get it for themselves. If the use of birth control violates someone's religious conscience they can refuse the benefit and therefore are not required to purchase it. When employers refuse their employees contraceptive coverage based on their own religious preferences they are then imposing their religious beliefs upon others.

        Every woman has the right to determine whether she would like to have a child or not, and therefore every women has the right to contraception.The United Nations declared contraceptive a human right (Beadle,  http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/11/14/1189161/un-contraception-human-right/?mobile=nc). Because it is a UN declared human right every women should have access to birth control, although many do not. Without contraceptive coverage a women on average would be forced to pay $150 a month for a contraceptive injection, making this opportunity unobtainable for some women.(Voss, womenshealthmag.com).  Limitations placed on contraception and contraceptive coverage can often reflect on the health of the female populations. Offering contraception to women in impoverish nations can often improve the economy by limiting population growth and allow more women to join the work force and boost the economy (Beadle, http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/11/14/1189161/un-contraception-human-right/?mobile=nc).  Although the United States is by no means an impoverished country, this statistic can be applied to areas of the country were many low-income families reside. The availability of birth control in these areas could assist in stimulating the economy, and allowing women in those areas a greater chance at success in their life. “Women who use contraception are generally healthier, better educated, more empowered in their households and communities and more economically productive. Women’s increased labor-force participation boosts nations’ economies” (UN representative, http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/11/14/1189161/un-contraception-human-right/?mobile=nc). The use and availability of birth control is not only beneficial to women individuality but society as a whole will benefit from the availability of contraceptives.

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Religious organizations campaign against contraceptive care is the largest factor in the government decision  that employers can choose whether to provide it or not, based on individual religious beliefs. When a similar bill to Obamacare was passed in Washington religious groups poured millions into the effort of fighting the bill.( Vanegeren, host.madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics). In the similar Washington bill there was no provision to allow religious employers the ability to deny their employees contraceptive coverage. Pro-life entities campaigned against the bill, claiming that their right to freedom of religion was being violated, when it is not. Anyone who feels that birth control ...

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