"Separation of church and state." This may be one of the most diversely interpreted phrases among people living in the states. Most frequently growing up I was led to believe that it meant there could be no specific religious requirements in relation to public institutions. Some examples I commonly took from it were no required teaching of religious material other than for historical purposes in schools, and no required religious affiliations for positions of public service. And I vehemently agreed for most of my life. In more recent times, though, as I come to reflect on anything and everything I find myself asking normal questions like "Is separation of church and state good? Why?"
Well, my first surprise when starting research was that the phrase and my understanding were actually a misnomer for what the constitution actually stated which is "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Wow! What a difference just to start. This isn't a "bottom-up" approach of keeping "church out of state" but was actually intended as a top-down approach to prevent the state from becoming involved in religious matters!
But, most of us probably agree to some extent that the "bottom-up" approach may be desired. For example, if a law were put in place to restrict business on Saturdays because it is the sabbath it may not be fair to people who do not recognize that tradition and benefit from doing business on Saturdays. Certainly there are hundreds more examples of where religious views should not become the driving force of legislation.
So, philosophically speaking we find ourselves in a gray area. We can confirm in the constitution "separation of church and state" intended to keep the state out the church (not the other way around), but most people also agree that we don't want religious or spiritual views we disagree with legislating our lives. To further add to the mixed feelings, I think it's safe to say that everyone wants the people acting as agents of their society to be imbued with the virtues that are extolled by religions, spiritual teachings, and philosophies. There is a balance that needs to be struck.
How can we find an equilibrium where there is no separation of God from the hearts of people who are the agents of society AND where their personal opinion, ideas, and experience have no harmful influence on the whole? What we really seem to want is a separation of "church or personal tradition" from society and still for it to be in alignment with The Will of The Divine.
It is not an easy thing to do; maybe the hardest based on we are taught of human history over the past few thousand years. Perhaps what we are currently experiencing in society is a test, an opportunity, or the impetus for us to make one of the greatest jumps in consciousness that we have ever seen. Maybe we have to make a choice. Does our personal connection to God or our highest self give us the faith needed to take a chance establishing our own systems based on principles of Natural Law to replace the ones which cause so much suffering now?
Many of us today have a feeling that there needs to be an awakening in the hearts of individuals to support such a thing, and the platforms and communities for people with this attitude to support its growth. This is one of the reasons why Unity of Divine Creation Ministry was founded, and what we hope to achieve together for the benefit of all beings. We support our members in their own process of building this connection to The Divine and want to congregate with others of like mind so together we can create an environment that fosters this.
People to some extent agree that "the world needs an awakening today" and at Unity of Divine Creation Ministry we do too. But we are also aware that we are responsible for that; and those that are awakening need a way to organize and collaborate so we can all start to build the beautiful futures we hold in our hearts. So together, perhaps rather than debating over "separation of church and state" we can focus on "harmonization of The Divine and society".