Wednesday, January 31, 2001

Sometimes I am confronted by self-appointed ethicists that challenge moral questions by insisting there must be a separation of church and state. I wonder where they are coming from.

Every law establishes a certain moral position as a social norm. Every society must establish and implement legislation that defines what is right and what is wrong. Whether it is from the Bible or elsewhere most of our nation's laws are rooted in the Judeo-Christian religion.

For instance, the Bible says, "thou shalt not steal." Should we get rid of the laws against stealing because they impose a Judeo-Christian morality? Should we invalidate every moral standard that is founded on religious principles? Is not the right to life a moral issue?

Virtually every significant document of the United States is based on moral principles that define our values as a nation. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principles.

Laws related to church and state were intended to assure freedom for religion, not freedom from religion. Neither the words "separation of church and state," and the concept as we now know it are found in the Constitution.

Religion's waning influence on our society directly accounts for the moral deterioration threatening our nation's future. Can we afford to forget the essential connection between a society's morality and its religious beliefs? It is time that we remind our state and federal legislators and our jurists of their responsibilities. It seems that there are many that have forgotten.

The Rev. Mr. Tom Zaworski

Pastoral Assistant

St. Gabriel Catholic Church

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