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JuliusFinalProposal

Page history last edited by PBworks 18 years, 3 months ago

In recent years, more and more often political issues have been touching on areas that concern the moral standing of Americans. Current issues such as cloning, abortion, and stem cell research are just three issues of many that the opinions that Americans form are swayed by their religious beliefs. Approximately ninety percent of all American citizens practice some sort of religion. These facts alone are enough to demonstrate the need for Congress to recognize that they could be representing the nation’s voting population more effectively. Ignoring such facts would be doing the American people a disservice by incorrectly representing their true feelings. (It's not clear what you'll be arguing for or what the problem is.)

 

At its core, this topic addresses a long-standing Constitutional debate. From the early years of the Constitution, Americans have debated the separation of church and state. This topic, which is not clearly defined in the Constitution, is one that I must initially address in my paper. Through a definitional argument I will make the meaning of the line in the Constitution clearer. I intend to show that in today’s American society, church and state have become more strictly separated than what was intended by the drafter of the Constitution. Examples that support my claim can be found in the intentions of Thomas Jefferson when he wrote the Constitution as well as when he wrote the infamous letter to the Danbury Baptists. Much of this debate over the separation of church and state is rooted in Thomas Jefferson’s proposed intentions. At this point it can only be left to debate what Thomas Jefferson truly wished to accomplish be each of the previously mentioned writings. To further support the claim that I will make I intent on making a comparison to other parts of the Constitution and the ability to adapt to the times. By first addressing this major topic my solution to the lack of a moral presence in the government will become more feasible.

 

The action that I am proposing in this final paper will specifically address the need for a moral presence of some form in the United States government. The area that I feel that there should be a moral presence is Congress. For this reason I will be addressing Congress in my final paper. Naturally, a secondary audience that needs to be addressed in this paper is the group of people that are strongly oppose any religious interference in the government. The main argument that this group typically makes is that they should not have to pay into any form of religious organization especially since it is not representative of them. I plan on addressing this counterargument to my proposed solution with an analogy to the taxes paid on welfare.

(Note: Ethical presence and religious involvement aren't necessarily the same thing!)

 

My final paper will attempt to persuade congress to create a special committee that would be responsible for reporting on the moral standing of the different religions that are present in the United States. The bulk of my paper will be spent defining how this group committee should be implemented into the government. I will address steps that need to be taken in its creation as well as limitations that should be placed on the committee. Ideally this committee would be comprised of delegates, elected by the people, which would be representative of the major religions in the United States. Specifically the representatives on this committee would not be voting politicians. They would merely provide opinion on controversial issues that Americans’ opinions would be derived from their religions beliefs. Furthermore the committee should not be comprised of senators or house representatives because there would be too much of a union between religion and the government if this situation existed. I do not want to argue for a complete integration of religion into the government that we have in American. I want to show that in moderation, having religious opinions in the government would help the American government and the society that it represents.

 

The creation of this committee would be the answer to the need for a moral presence that is necessary in the government. It allows for the people of the United States to be better represented because their moral beliefs will now be accounted for in the creation of the laws that will govern them. Allowing a nonpartisan committee to regularly speak before congress may also provide stability in congress by removing some political debate. Instead of politicians carefully treading the line of religious involvement there would be a committee that would provide their opinions on political issues, thus avoiding the Americans being wrongly represented.

 

Bibliography:

 

1. "The Constitution's Framers Intended Strict Separation of Church and State" by Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs. Civil Liberties. Tamara L. Roleff, Ed. Opposing Viewpoints® Series. Greenhaven Press, 1999. Reprinted from the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, "Separation of Church and State," Life and Liberty series, 1996, by permission.

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Thomson Gale. 21 November 2005

http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/OVRC

 

2. "Church and State Should Be Separate" by Alan Wolfe. Civil Liberties. Auriana Ojeda, Ed. Opposing Viewpoints® Series. Greenhaven Press, 2004. Alan Wolfe, "Why Separation of Church and State Is Still a Good Idea," Books & Culture, September/October 2002. Copyright © 2002 by Alan Wolfe. Reproduced by permission.

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Thomson Gale. 21 November 2005

http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/OVRC

 

3. Remaley, Michael. "It's wrong to base voting on religion, say most Americans." Public Agenda . 09 2001. 04 Nov. 2005 <http://publicagenda.org/press/press_release_detail.cfm?list=30>.

 

4. "United States of America." Wikitravel. Wiki. 21 Nov. 2005 <http://wikitravel.org/en/United_States_of_America>.

 

5. "The Myth of Separation of Church and State." The Myth of Separation of Church and State. 21 Nov. 2005 <http://www.noapathy.org/tracts/mythofseparation.html>.

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