Editing Separation of church and state (section)

===Christianity===
{{Further|Christian state|Christian democracy|Christian Reconstructionism}}

Historically, the [[Catholic Church]] and the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] have deemed a close relationship between church and state desirable wherever possible as per the 2105 of the [[Catechism of the Catholic Church]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c1a1.htm |title=Catechism of the Catholic Church – the first commandment |access-date=2020-03-16 |archive-date=2019-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925062519/http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c1a1.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Orthodox churches have historically at times formed a "[[symphonia]]" with the state, whether de jure or de facto. On the other hand, while some Protestants hold views similar to those above, some [[Protestant]]s refuse to vote, carry arms, or participate in civil government in any way, often leading to their persecution, as happened to [[Anabaptist]]s, their descendants including the [[Amish]], [[Mennonites]], and [[Quakers]], in the 20th Century. Anabaptist Protestants and [[Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses|Jehovah's Witnesses]], in many countries, believing by not participating they are closer to the [[Kingdom of God]], since "[[Jesus]] answered ([[Pilate]]), 'My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight (to defend him).' " – [[John 18]]:36. For them, the term "[[Christian nation]]" cannot be a valid governmental position, leaving only Christian people, possibly in Christian communities, beyond which are the "things which are Caesar's" – [[Matthew 22:21]].

====Methodism====
In its section on National Reform, the ''Book of Discipline'' of the [[Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection]] states, with respect to Church and state relations:<ref name="AWMC2014">{{cite book|title=The Discipline of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection (Original Allegheny Conference)|year=2014|publisher=[[Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection]]|location=[[Salem, Ohio|Salem]]|language=en|pages=37–38}}</ref><ref name="WMC1896"/>

{{Blockquote|It shall be the duty of the ministers and members of the Wesleyan Methodist Connection to use their influence in every feasible manner in favor of a more complete recognition of the authority of Almighty God, in the secular and civil relations, both of society and of government, and the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ as King of nations as well as King of saints.<ref name="AWMC2014"/><ref name="WMC1896"/>}}

As such, the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Church advocates for Bible reading in public schools, chaplaincies in the Armed Forces and in Congress, [[blue law]]s (reflecting historic Methodist belief in [[Sunday Sabbatarianism]]), and [[Christian amendment|amendments that advance the recognition of God]].<ref name="AWMC2014"/><ref name="WMC1896">{{cite book |title=Discipline of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of America |year=1896|publisher=Wesleyan Methodist Church|language=en|pages=142–143}}</ref>

====Reformed====
The Reformed tradition of Christianity ([[Congregationalist]], [[Continental Reformed]], [[Presbyterian]] denominations) have also addressed the issue of the relationship between the Church and state. In its 1870 [[Presbyterian polity#General assembly|General Assembly]], the [[Presbyterian Church in the United States]] stated:<ref name="Thompson1902"/>

{{Blockquote|We should regard the successful attempt to expel all religious instruction and influence from our public schools as an evil of the first magnitude. Nor do we see how this can be done without inflicting a deadly wound upon the intellectual and moral life of the nation…We look upon the state as an ordinance of God, and not a mere creature of the popular will; and, under its high responsibility to the Supreme Ruler of the world, we hold it to be both its right and bound duty to educate its children in those elementary principles of knowledge and virtue which are essential to its own security and well-being. The union of church and state is indeed against our American theory and constitutions of government; but the most intimate union of the state with the saving and conservative forces of Christianity is one of the oldest customs of the country, and has always ranked a vital article of our political faith.<ref name="Thompson1902">{{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Robert Ellis |title=The American Church History Series: A History of the Presbyterian Churches |year=1902|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|language=en|page=199}}</ref>}}

====Catholicism====
The first full articulation of the Catholic doctrine on the principles of the relationship of the [[Catholic Church]] to the state (at the time, the [[Eastern Roman Empire]]) is contained in the document [[Famuli vestrae pietatis]], written by [[Pope Gelasius I]] to the Emperor, which states that the Church and the state should work together in society, that the state should recognize the Church's role in society, with the Church holding superiority in moral matters and the state having superiority in temporal matters. Monsignor John A. Ryan speaks of this Catholic doctrine thusly: "If there is only one true religion, and if its possession is the most important good in life, for states as well as individuals, then the public profession, protection, and promotion of this religion, and the legal prohibition of all direct assaults upon it, becomes one of the most obvious and fundamental duties of the state. For it is the business of the state to safeguard and promote human welfare in all departments of life."

In the 1864 [[Syllabus of Errors]], issued by [[Pope Pius IX]], the idea that "the Church ought to be separated from the State, and the State from the Church" is condemned.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius09/p9syll.htm|title = The Syllabus of Errors|date = 9 June 1864|access-date = 10 July 2021|archive-date = 11 May 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220511193056/https://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius09/p9syll.htm|url-status = live}}</ref>

In his 1906 encyclical, [[Vehementer Nos]], [[Pope Pius X]] condemns separation, writing:

<blockquote>That the State must be separated from the Church is a thesis absolutely false, a most pernicious error. Based, as it is, on the principle that the State must not recognize any religious cult, it is in the first place guilty of a great injustice to God; for the Creator of man is also the Founder of human societies, and preserves their existence as He preserves our own. We owe Him, therefore, not only a private cult, but a public and social worship to honor Him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-x/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-x_enc_11021906_vehementer-nos.html|title=Vehementer Nos (February 11, 1906) &#124; PIUS X|website=www.vatican.va|access-date=August 24, 2021|archive-date=July 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160721222207/http://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-x/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-x_enc_11021906_vehementer-nos.html|url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote>

''[[Gaudium et spes]]'' ("Joy and Hope"), the 1965 Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, noted that "... the Church has always had the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel."<ref name=gaudium>{{Cite book|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_cons_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html|author=Pope Paul VI|title=Gaudium et Spes|at=§4|date=7 December 1965|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110411023509/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_cons_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html |archive-date=April 11, 2011|ref={{SfnRef|Gaudium et Spes}}}}</ref> The mission of the Church recognized that the realities of secularization and pluralism exist despite the traditional teaching on confessional statehood. Because of this reality of secularisation, it also recognized and encouraged the role of the laity in the life of the Church in the secular world, viewing the laity as much-needed agents of change in order to bring about a transformation of society more in line with Catholic teaching. "This council exhorts Christians, as citizens of two cities, to strive to discharge their earthly duties conscientiously and in response to the Gospel spirit.".{{sfn|Gaudium et Spes|loc=§43}} This was further expanded in ''[[Apostolicam Actuositatem]]'', Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, of 18 November 1965.

''Apostolicam Actuositatem'', the Second Vatican Council's "Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity", was issued 18 November 1965. The purpose of this document was to encourage and guide lay people in their Christian service. "Since the laity, in accordance with their state of life, live in the midst of the world and its concerns, they are called by God to exercise their apostolate in the world like leaven, with the ardor of the Spirit of Christ."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19651118_apostolicam-actuositatem_en.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150625142206/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19651118_apostolicam-actuositatem_en.html|url-status=dead|title=Apostolicam actuositatem|archivedate=June 25, 2015|website=www.vatican.va}}</ref> [[Francis Arinze|Francis Cardinal Arinze]] explains that lay persons "...are called by Baptism to witness to Christ in the secular sphere of life; that is in the family, in work and leisure, in science and cultural, in politics and government, in trade and mass media, and in national and international relations".<ref name=Arinze>[https://books.google.com/books?id=kFJLAgAAQBAJ&dq=apostolicam+actuositatem&pg=PA4 Francis Cardinal Arinze, ''The Layperson's Distinctive Role'', Ignatius Press, 2013] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207045727/https://books.google.com/books?id=kFJLAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA4&lpg=PA4&dq=apostolicam+actuositatem&source=bl&ots=wgiYufBDE8&sig=qE0JCL4nvLqkHtM6HyBCBw0FRq4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiYjr_Yp6rJAhUIcBoKHV2jAws4KBDoAQgcMAA#v=onepage&q=apostolicam%20actuositatem&f=false |date=2016-02-07 }} {{ISBN|978-1586177805}} {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kFJLAgAAQBAJ&q=apostolicam%20actuositatem&pg=PA4 |title=The Layperson's Distinctive Role |access-date=May 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812111716/https://books.google.com/books?id=kFJLAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA4&lpg=PA4&dq=apostolicam%20actuositatem&source=bl&ots=wgiYufBDE8&sig=qE0JCL4nvLqkHtM6HyBCBw0FRq4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiYjr_Yp6rJAhUIcBoKHV2jAws4KBDoAQgcMAA |archive-date=August 12, 2018 |url-status=bot: unknown |isbn=978-1586177805 |last1=Arinze |first1=Francis Cardinal |date=2013-08-13 |publisher=Ignatius Press }}</ref>

The [[Catholic social teaching|Catholic teaching]] in ''[[Dignitatis Humanae]]'', the [[Second Vatican Council]]'s Declaration on Religious Freedom (1986), states that all people are entitled to a degree of religious freedom as long as public order is not disturbed and that constitutional law should recognize such freedom.<ref>Calo, Zachary A., [http://www4.samford.edu/lillyhumanrights/papers/Calo_Catholic.pdf Catholic Social Thought, Political Liberalism, and the Idea of Human Rights] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621203728/http://www4.samford.edu/lillyhumanrights/papers/Calo_Catholic.pdf |date=June 21, 2010 }}, pp. 18–19, Samford University, November 2004</ref> "If, in view of peculiar circumstances obtaining among peoples, special civil recognition is given to one religious community in the constitutional order of society, it is at the same time imperative that the right of all citizens and religious communities to religious freedom should be recognized and made effective in practice.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651207_dignitatis-humanae_en.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211202206/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651207_dignitatis-humanae_en.html|url-status=dead|title=Dignitatis humanae|archivedate=February 11, 2012|website=www.vatican.va}}</ref> At the same time, the document reiterated that the Church "leaves untouched traditional Catholic doctrine on the moral duty of men and societies toward the true religion and toward the one Church of Christ". The traditional teaching of the duty of society towards the Church is described in the current edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, number 2105.<ref>Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1993 edition, https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c1a1.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925062519/http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c1a1.htm |date=2019-09-25 }}</ref>

Pope John Paul II, in his 2005 letter to the Bishops of France proposed that not only is Separation of State and Church permissible, it is in fact a part of the Church's Social Doctrine. The Pope writes:

"Correctly understood, the principle of ''laïcité'' (secularity), to which your Country is deeply attached, is also part of the social teaching of the Church. It recalls the need for a clear division of powers (cf. ''Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church,'' nn. 571–572) that echoes Christ's invitation to his disciples: "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" (Lk 20: 25). For its part, just as the non-denominational status of the State implies the civil Authority's abstention from interference in the life of the Church and of the various religions, in the spiritual realm it enables all society's members to work together at the service of all and of the national community. Likewise, as the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council recalled, the management of temporal power is not the Church's vocation for: "The Church, by reason of her role and competence, is not identified with any political community nor bound by ties to any political system" (Pastoral Constitution ''Gaudium et Spes,'' n. 76 2; cf. n. 42). Yet, at the same time, it is important that all work in the general interest and for the common good. The council also stated: "The political community and the Church... each serves the personal and social vocation of the same human beings. This service will redound the more effectively to the welfare of all insofar as both institutions practise better cooperation" (''ibid.'' 3)" [https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/letters/2005/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_20050211_french-bishops.html LETTER OF POPE JOHN PAUL II TO THE BISHOPS OF FRANCE]

The Catholic Church takes the position that the Church itself has a proper role in guiding and informing consciences, explaining the [[natural law]], and judging the moral integrity of the state, thereby serving as check to the power of the state.<ref>Grasso, Kenneth L. and Robert P. Hunt, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=gRNcvjNxXfYC Catholicism and religious freedom: contemporary reflections on Vatican II's declaration on religious liberty] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160520111726/https://books.google.com/books?id=gRNcvjNxXfYC&dq |date=May 20, 2016 }}'', p. 6, Rowman & Littlefield, 2006</ref> The Church teaches that the [[Dignitatis humanae#The fundamental right to religious liberty|right of individuals to religious freedom]] is an essential dignity.

Catholic philosopher Thomas Storck argues that, once a society becomes "Catholicised" and adopts the Church as the state religion, it is further morally bound: "'the just requirements of public order' vary considerably between a Catholic state and a religiously neutral state. If a neutral state can prohibit polygamy, even though it is a restriction on religious freedom, then a Catholic state can likewise restrict the public activity of non-Catholic groups. "The just requirements of public order" can be understood only in the context of a people's traditions and modes of living, and in a Catholic society would necessarily include that social unity based upon a recognition of the Catholic Church as the religion of society, and the consequent exclusion of all other religions from public life. Western secular democracies, committed to freedom of religion for all sects, find no contradiction in proscribing polygamy, although some religions permit it, because its practice is contrary to the traditions and mores of these nations. A Catholic country can certainly similarly maintain its own manner of life.", further:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/FR89103.HTM |title=THE PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY: A NEW PROPOSAL|access-date=2015-06-18 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310131008/https://www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/FR89103.HTM |archive-date=2016-03-10 |work="Faith & Reason". Christendom Press|year=1989}}</ref>

<blockquote>If, under consideration of historical circumstances among peoples, special civil recognition is given to one religious community in the constitutional order of a society, it is necessary at the same time that the right of all citizens and religious communities to religious freedom should be acknowledged and maintained.<ref>
Murray, John Courtney and J. Leon Hooper, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=T8FKWmD_pKMC Religious liberty: Catholic struggles with pluralism] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423214619/https://books.google.com/books?id=T8FKWmD_pKMC&pg |date=April 23, 2016 }}'', pp. 213–214, Westminster John Knox Press, 1993
</ref></blockquote>

The Church takes stances on current political issues, and tries to influence legislation on matters it considers relevant. For example, the Catholic bishops in the United States adopted a plan in the 1970s calling for efforts aimed at a [[Constitutional amendment]] providing "[[abortion law|protection for the unborn]] child to the maximum degree possible".<ref>{{cite web |last=Curran |first=Charles |url=http://ncronline.org/news/politics/us-catholic-bishops-and-abortion-legislation |title=National Catholic Reporter online, 29 November 2010 |publisher=Ncronline.org |access-date=2012-04-27 |date=2010-11-29 |archive-date=2012-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120718052822/http://ncronline.org/news/politics/us-catholic-bishops-and-abortion-legislation |url-status=live }}</ref>

Benedict XVI regards modern idea of freedom (meaning the Church should be free from governmental coercion and overtly political influence from the state) as a legitimate product of the Christian environment,<ref>Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. "Theology and the Church's Political Stance". In: Church, Ecumenism and Politics: New Essays in Ecclesiology (NY: Crossroad, 1988, p. 162).</ref> in a similar way to Jacques Le Goff.<ref>"Les convictions européennes de l'historien Jacques Le Goff." La vie, 01/04/2014, {{cite web |url=http://www.lavie.fr/actualite/les-convictions-europeennes-de-l-historien-jacques-le-goff-01-04-2014-51510_3.php |title=Les convictions européennes de l'historien Jacques le Goff – Actualité – la Vie |date=April 2014 |access-date=2015-10-20 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150507200453/http://www.lavie.fr/actualite/les-convictions-europeennes-de-l-historien-jacques-le-goff-01-04-2014-51510_3.php |archive-date=2015-05-07 }}.</ref> However, contrary to the French historian,<ref>"Jacques Le Goff: "Mes héros ne meurent jamais"." L' Obs, {{cite web|url=http://bibliobs.nouvelobs.com/essais/20140401.OBS2148/jacques-le-goff-mes-heros-ne-meurent-jamais.html |title=Jacques le Goff : "Mes héros ne meurent jamais" |date=April 2014 |access-date=2015-10-20 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083328/http://bibliobs.nouvelobs.com/essais/20140401.OBS2148/jacques-le-goff-mes-heros-ne-meurent-jamais.html |archive-date=2016-03-04 }}.</ref> the Pope rejects the conception of religion as just a private affair.<ref>"Religion Not Just a Private Affair, Affirms Pontiff." Zenit, {{cite web|url=http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/religion-not-just-a-private-affair-affirms-pontiff |title=Religion Not Just a Private Affair, Affirms Pontiff &#124; ZENIT – the World Seen from Rome |access-date=2015-10-20 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151121192623/http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/religion-not-just-a-private-affair-affirms-pontiff |archive-date=2015-11-21 }}.</ref>