Role Religion Should Play In Our Nation and How It Should Be Reflected In the Constitution

Introduction

Religion in many ways shaped the laws that were made by those who drafted the constitution. To date, religion is still a powerful tool that is often referenced when making necessary amendments to the constitution. Many of the ideas within the constitution referred to God an indication of how the values and the principles of Christianity.in the past before the drafting of the constitution religion was used as the tool to influence the people and enforce many ideas, especially to the native Indians. Framers of the constitution borrowed many ideas from religion evidenced in the various clauses that invoke Gods name. However despite these ideas being used there multiple ways through which religion could have been used in the past to champion a better and inclusive constitution without discrimination of the minorities.

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The destruction of the Indies as told by Bartolomeo de Casas portray a situation where the Native Americans were disrespected by our founding fathers. An account of the actions of our fathers shows how they acted wrongly towards the native Indians with the message that they were from heaven. In drafting the constitution, I believe these issues would have been addressed accordingly, and the natives treated equally as the other citizens. Many Indians witnessed wrongdoing by the men preaching with some even getting their wives abused sexually (MacNutt). The constituting thus should have been framed such that the Indians who lived in America could get justice as well be protected by the government rather than being treated as second-class citizens.

While much reference is made about respecting the word of God the constitution was not strictly implemented. Many Indians, as well as blacks, continued to suffer slavery and their property as well as their rights violated. The bill of rights despite advocating equal treatment of citizens regardless of their diversity failed to protect the minority groups who continued to face harassment as a result. Religion specifically Christianity proponents of unity through its values of peace and love for others. These values of Christianity rates an atmosphere where people can interact and pray to the lord as human beings. In doing so, religion teaches us to relate well with one another and profess love for one another while shunning hate. Through this teachings, religion can be very influential bringing the nation together, and through this, the constitution can be all-inclusive and protective of its citizens ("Constitutional Topic: The Constitution and Religion - The U.S. Constitution Online - Usconstitution.Net").

Our nation in the past valued religion so much and many were persecuted for opposing the gospel. Native Indian could not understand the actions of men who talked about what God wants them to be while being violent and unjust to them in their homeland (MacNutt). In framing the constitution, religion should have served as guidance towards reaching an agreement while setting laws to be written in the new constitution. Religious teachings did not advocate for one group to be treated better than others.

Equality is an issue that has been controversial with many Americans unwilling to think of the future. Our founding father's ideas were promoting freedom and ensuring each leads a life that is fulfilling without being judged based on their preferences as long as they are within the set laws. Slavery is vice that is unacceptable if Christian values were to be practised primarily in the past. Nobody can argue that slavery was beneficial to the economy yet it made certain groups of people inferior. Jefferson for instance still practised slavery, and yet he knew that this vice was wrong. Despite knowledge on this our forefathers failed to emancipate the slaves who had grown up thinking they were equal and would one day be treated in the same manner as their masters (MacNutt).

In this instance, religion was very much used to justify many violent actions against the natives Indians and the blacks (MacNutt). Our constitution as interpreted in the supreme relies mostly on the idea that our nation and that most of the decisions have to be made concerning our belief in God. Failure to include religion in the constitution would mean that the people have nothing to believe and they would lack desired beliefs to teach their children.

Religion in the past was compelling, and few could question its legitimacy, unlike today. Today the freedom of worship allows people to associate with the religion of their choice unlike in the past where individuals were enslaved for being non-Christians. In the time of Columbus Christianity was gladly calling for non-believers to be incarcerated for economic purposes. The outright slavery justified through religion is an indication the power religion plays in influencing how our society perceives issues. Before announcing a vice religious leaders ought to consider the basis of their faith as such action goes against the teachings of God. Based on this atrocities our founding father should have discussed this in the constitution on how to use religion to address the various injustices and violence that had been meted out to the minorities.

Religion in the united states despite the many different types of faith people subscribe to have an enormous impact still. The American nation and religion since its inception have been inseparable despite the various challenges that try to dispute its relation. Individual, especially in high positions within the society, has been ousted because of going against religious values. Cases of this nature have always shown how our laws through the constitution follow refer to religion through phrases like "under God" and "our lord" ("Constitutional Topic: The Constitution and Religion - The U.S. Constitution Online - Usconstitution.Net"). This portrays a society that despite allowing people to choose their faith, they deeply respect and value Christian teachings. Religion, however, today does not condone discrimination but rather pushes for people to live in harmony and participate in productive activities for our nation.

In the bill of rights, many states have had their way of either introducing religion or pushing it aside. Some states have been vocal about religion and how it should be exercised within their governments. While some states have been shy about mentioning God in their governments others have been vocal about their belief in their creator. However, despite these differences among states one thing that comes out is the fact that they encourage freedom of worship by advocating for people to pray in the manner, they deem fit("Constitutional Topic: The Constitution And Religion - The U.S. Constitution Online - Usconstitution.Net").

Conclusion

Religion thus should serve as guidance towards making up of a constitution that reflects our values and best practices. However much we may disagree religion is very important and affects many aspects of our society. Through religion, we learn to be tolerant and welcoming to divergent views that emanate from our diverse population. It also reminds us that religion is the communication between a person and his god and thus should be respected without judgement of any kind.

Works Cited

"Constitutional Topic: The Constitution and Religion - The U.S. Constitution Online - Usconstitution.Net". Usconstitution.Net, 2018, https://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_reli.html. Accessed 26 Sept 2018.

MacNutt, Francis Augustus. Bartholomew de las Casas: His life, his apostolate, and his writings. Putnam, 1909.