Religious Symbols in Society: Church vs. State

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In our daily lives, without even recognizing it, there are religious symbols present all around us. If we are carrying money, “In God We Trust” is a religious symbol that is present on our currency. If we happen to say the pledge of allegiance we are saying “one nation under God” which alludes to God and the Catholic religion. Around the holidays, there are Christmas decorations present everywhere, which are religious symbols of the Catholic faith. None of these things seem bad or harmful to anyone in any way. They are not harming anyone. Are they? Well, they are not harming anyone directly, but have impacted people because it is through the presence of these symbols that neglects all other religions and is feeding into the issue of the ongoing church versus state argument for separation.

Religious symbols are aspects of all different religions that strengthen faith, promote certain beliefs, and represent the fundamentals of that specific religion. According to Furst’s article on the use of physical religious symbols, “As beings that are both body and spirit, humans use symbols in order to perceive and to grasp realities that are not empirical. As social beings, humans use symbols to communicate with others,” (p 2). But, there are many issues that arise when these symbols are involved and existing in the media, the state, our government, and the public. Mainly this is because symbols are truly powerful and represent controversies that come along with different religions. Furst also states that, “symbols play a powerful role in the transmission of the culture of human society,” (p 2). If religious symbols transmit culture into society, then people in our society are going to pay very close attention to what symbols are present...

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... Case may Determine Direction of Church-State Law." Church & State 62.10 (2009): 220-2. Web.

Boston, Rob. "Prayers, Preaching & Public Schools: Religious Right Activists use Wide Variety of Tactics to Evangelize in the Classroom." Church & State 62.10 (2009): 223-6. Web.

Furst, Lyndon G., and Stephen J. Denig. "The use of Physical Symbols to Transmit Culture in Religious Schools: A Comparison of Adventist and Catholic Schools in America." Journal of Empirical Theology 18.1 (2005): 1-21. Web.

Stevenson, Dwight Eshelman. "Religious Symbols and Religious Communication." Lexington Theological Quarterly 1.3 (1966): 69-79. Web.

"Wandering in the Desert: Justice Scalia's Dangerous Plan to Secularize the Cross." Church & State 62.10 (2009): 230-318. Web.

Zenit. "Christmas Symbols Not Welcome in Many U.S. Classrooms " National Catholic Register 77.51 (2001) Print.

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