Reflection+For+Persisten+Influence

In the Constitution of the United States, the document which this nation was founded on, it states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion," (Bill of Rights: 1st amendment) clearly stressing that there should be a complete separation between the Church and the State. However, as the years have gone by, the line between these two spheres has slowly disappeared. This wall attempts to display not only how the church is continually influencing laws made by the state, but also the danger associated with that. In accordance with the theme throughout all the walls, this wall also displays how this problem has persisted in the United States, placing Thomas Jefferson's warning from the 19th century about the dangers of not separating church and state, next to a picture of George Bush speaking at a church in 2005. The quote from __The Scarlett Letter__ explains how this religious influence started with the early puritan colonies of America, and the dangers it created then. Though our laws are not identical to the laws of the bible today, lawmakers too often lean on the bible for guidence, as they did during those colonial times. The video clip from the movie __Jesus Camp__ explains how much influence religious groups can have, claiming that one group of Christians (evangelical Christians) have enough power to sway the elections.

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