The Separation of Church and State

For the past few months, a group of us throughout Rhode Island have been paying close attention to efforts to undermine the separation of church and state. On the national level, we have seen the erosion of this separation play out in legislative attempts to ban books, in efforts to undermine the liberties and protections of minority groups, and in the formation of the so-called “parental rights” movement.

As Rhode Islanders, the thinning of the barrier between civil and religious society is particularly strange to watch, given the historical reality of the essential claims made by our state’s founding thinker, Roger Williams. Although not without fault (Williams was prolific and vitriolic in his theological admonitions against those he disagreed with), he was consistent in his belief that the civil state should never be brought to bear on religious society. During Williams’ time, Rhode Island was unique, relative to its colonial neighbors, in the diversity of its religious communities.

One practical way we might think about this today is to reflect on efforts to employ the power of the state in the enforcement of particular (or narrow) religious views. It’s one thing for a religious community to hold an internal view or enforce a standard of living amongst its adherents – it’s quite another to expect the civil state to enforce that view writ large.

At the same time, the intersection of religious belief/practice and the beliefs/practices that constitute the civil state are not always so clear cut. The Declaration of Independence makes the sweeping claim that “all men [people] are created equal” and “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…” Not only are we still struggling to live into that grand vision, but in a deeply ironic twist, it has often been religious communities that have acted as the primary catalyst in the realization of a freer and more democratic nation.

The Rhode Island State Council of Churches inhabits a unique space in our community – we represent a wide range of religious belief and practice while at the same time defend our democratic norms expressed through the stability of civil society.

As I often say to own children, “no rest for the good.”