What exactly is the separation of church and state? And what does it have to do with He-Man?
Political pop quiz. Disable the pause button, Camera Guy; ’cause that’s cheating.
You want to learn something? Learn it on your own time. Oh, wait.
Pencils up. Begin.
The words “separation of church and state” appear in:
(A) The US Constitution;
(B) The Declaration of Independence;
(C) The Bill of Rights, which is the first ten amendments to the Constitution, but of course you already knew that;
(D) The US Constitution and The Declaration of Independence;
(E) The Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights;
(F) The Bill of Rights and the Constitution;
(G) All of the Above;
(H) None of the Above; or
(I) Some of the Above.
Mark all that apply. Aaaand, time’s up, pencils down. What? It was only one question.
The answer is (B), no (D). Just kidding, (C). Ha! It’s gotta be (I), (H), or (G). Really. Seriously. Did you even think about this?
The real answer is actually (H), none of the above. Surprised? Of course you’re not. I mean you are, but you’re not.
Wait a minute, you’re hearing about it all the time in the news, right? The fight about having the Ten Commandments in a courtroom or whether or not kids should be praying to Obama?
The separation of church and state is one of the hallmarks of American freedom. Here’s the problem: misconception. Not only do you not know where to find the phrase “separation of church and state,” most people don’t even know what it means. I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt. Some of you are very smart. Maybe you know what it means.
Pop quiz. Two page essay before you leave class.
Here’s the deal: separation of church and state doesn’t have to be explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, because it’s already in there. Where, you ask? It’s built in by omission. There’s no state-sponsored religion. Ask yourself this question: is there just one legal religion in the US? Or is it like Iran, Egypt, and Pakistan–places where there’s only one legal religion and no separation between church and state.
I feel like I should clarify something. Our nation is technically not a Christian nation. *GASP* Nope. And it never has been. It was founded on enlightened Christian ideals, and I say enlightened because the founding fathers allowed for other religions to exist. You know, non-Christian religions. It’s that freedom to worship space monkeys if you want.
And you have to remember, when the Constitution was drafted, religious freedom wasn’t really en vogue. “Freedom of religion? Heretics.”
That’s probably going to make some of our viewers mad; but, like it or not, the teachings of Jesus Christ are not established laws in America. Based on them, but not established laws, so technically it’s not a Christian nation. Sure, Christian ideals were the inspiration for the freedoms we enjoy; and some things like “Thou shalt not kill” made it on to the law books, you know in one form or another. But that being said, people still act shocked that some of our laws may actually have religious roots. What? Well, when you live in a country founded on religious principles it shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise.
I know everyone’s heard about the Supreme Court ruling on removing the Ten Commandments off an Alabama courthouse. Interestingly enough, Moses and the Ten Commandments are depicted on the architecture of the Supreme Court building, too. But they’re not tearing that down. Whether you like those stone carvings or not, it’s part of our history and it seems a little sad to me that people are so eager to get rid of it just because they disagree with what it says. It’s like a western version of when the Taliban whipped out their AK-47s and went to town on an eighteen-hundred-year-old statue of Buddha. “We don’t like this place’s history, so we’re just going to tear it down and pretend it didn’t happen.” Great plan. Way to preserve our cultural heritage. We’re Americans, we don’t have any culture.
Now that we’ve told you what it is, we will also tell you what it isn’t. Separation of church and state is not the elimination of all religious influence in government, as some people use it these days. I heard an acquaintance of mine advocating not voting based on your religious beliefs, as if everyone should become agnostic at the polls. The right to vote based on your view of the world is a fundamental one, and all of our laws are based on morality–what we as a nation believe is right and wrong. If people weren’t allowed to vote based on their religious convictions that would be a kind of state-sponsored religion: an atheistic religion. And that would be taking away from the separation of church and state, because it’s someone telling you what you have to believe. Yes, atheism is its own religion–a replacement for other religion, a belief that there is no God.
Time to switch gears. *GRAWWW, GRRAWW*
You know how He-Man would always say something like, “Stop, Skeletor, you don’t know what you’re doing;” but then Skeletor would never listen and he’d just call He-Man a fool and then go along with his plan and wind up in a ton of trouble which He-Man would have to bail him out of? There are some very vocal groups out there who want to take away church tax-exempt status. This might be a less effective strategy. Yeah, in the short run, if you don’t like religious influence in government, taking away church tax-exempt status looks like a win because it takes away some of their money. But it’s not. It could actually be the most counter-productive thing you could possibly do. First of all, just because you take away a church’s special tax status doesn’t mean their congregations will dry up over night. In fact, it might be perceived as an attack and increase their zealousness.
Is that a word? That’s a word. Zealousness. Look it up.
All you’ll really do is force churches to incorporate; but guess what, over the last hundred years, big businesses have perfected the art of paying as little tax as possible. Right now churches generally avoid political involvement, because they might lose their tax-exempt status. They don’t overtly campaign for political candidates or directly contribute to them, but you take away that status and there will be no more inhibitions. This may effectually turn every church in America into a lobbying organization. And once they’re corporations and not churches anymore they can start doing all sorts of exciting things like openly endorsing candidates, giving huge monetary donations directly to the causes they support, and using their church facilities for political rallies. Whoops. You see, they don’t do all that right now. And the leash that’s holding them back is their tax-exempt status. Just think about the trade-off. You’ll be taking away a little bit of their money and giving them the unlimited ability to influence government. And that’s provided their congregations don’t start giving them more because they feel threatened. If that happens, well, then you’ve lost in every measurable way. Like I said, not a great strategy. Unless of course your goal all along was to make the majority of American religious institutions into lobbying corporations, drastically increasing religious influence in American government. In which case, you nailed it. *thumbs up*
No, stop, Skeletor, you don’t know what you’re doing.
And just in case you’re wondering, in 1802 president Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptist Association that the first amendment had built a, quote, wall of separation between church and state; and that’s where the famous phrase comes from. Class dismissed.
“I have the power!”
Transcribed by: TS
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45 Comments
nhodge
This video is the one that got me completely hooked on the show. It got me thinking about other issues that might make for an interesting discussion (or debate depending in your point of view). Would a "right to privacy" also fall under this same category? I've ... moreJimmytheNoob
Interesting how even the church are willing to give up some of their ability to "spread the word of God" just for a little more money.marc
I worship space monkeys!drumdudguy
First off, glad to see you guys back, I haven't been to this site in awhile, and thought I'd check it out today in some of my free time. While I agree that the debate of whether atheism is a religion won't be solved anytime soon, I want to post my views on the subject here. I think it really depends on what your definition of religion is. Most of the arguments and definitions I've read for it being a religion are that it's still a belief in something. I don't agree that religion is belief in something, ... lots morevwmads
like i've said on youtube whether you think so or not, atheism is a religion.Guin
Wow ! Thanks for giving me a sense of reminiscence... I havent thought about that show (He-man) since i was little kid. Never did see the ending though. If you do another show using He-man as a metaphor , use your old action figures as visual aids. (cuz i ... moresocalcutie82 [22]
Sorry I'm late seeing this but thanks for the video...we really enjoyed it and will save this as a perfect response for people who say that churches should lose their tax exempt status...this is the perfect response (and I don't even have to be there to argue with them...thank you electronic transmission!!). You are absolutely right...and what's interesting is that I can guarantee there are many churches like the one we belong to that even if you took away the tax exempt status trying to "hurt 'em where it counts" it would only fuel more donations and now the ... lots morepkw
Beautiful. Love your example of "Thinking Beyond Step 1". Awesome.Swip
Zealousness: Adjective. full of, characterized by, or due to zeal; ardently active, devoted, or diligent. Origin: 1520–30; < ML z?l?sus. OK, it's real.Pheonix_blu{207}
also I wish there was an edit feature on the page so I could go back and fix all my typos, YIKES!Pheonix_blu{207}
You know, Ive been following the flame war on you-tube and some people just don't get the whole "athiesm is a religion" thing. They think they can just explain it away by saying "it's not a belief it's a LACK of belief, but that is not possible sinces nobody can know beyond a shodow of a doubt which "theory" is correct. If you say that the universe wasn't created by a god, then that creats a vaccum of belief and since nature abhorrs a vaccum some other belief about the nature of origins must fill the void created. Becuase negatives ... lots moreMeandering {207}
You are officially back! I had almost given up checking back here and I'm so glad I didn't. Great episode, well thought and excellently executed. Keep up the great work!Jennifer McKenzie
I absolutely love this. Timely and well reasoned. Camera Guy, get away from that fudge!!!!The Sasquatch
koolman2: The definitions you gave us were as follows. Religion: a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe. Atheism: the doctrine or belief that there is no God -or- disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings. You said we need to test Atheism against the definition of a religion. The Brothers did just that and came to the conclusion that Atheism is a religion. Here's a basic philosophical summary: P1: Religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature and and purpose of the universe P2: Atheism believes God does not exist C1: A lack ... lots morekoolman2
First let me say thank you for your kind and very informative response to my comment; it's much more than I had expected. You are right; this topic is one that is much debated. When a topic is debated such as this, I usually refer to actual definitions. So you have to ask yourself: does atheism fit the accepted definition for religion? I believe that if you take these two words, define them in an accepted dictionary, and ask just about any person, they would disagree. - Atheism does not replace religion – religion (or theism) replaces atheism. ... lots moreThe Brothers Winn
koolman2, Thanks for your nice words about the show. As to Atheism is not a religion: I predict this will be a topic as easy for society to agree upon as abortion. The problem is semantics. No atheist wants to be associated with the word religion for obvious reasons. - First off, the fact that atheists believe the opposite of what a person of faith believes doesn't change the fact that it is still the same thing… belief. Now here is where all my friends on youtube would jump in and say the burden of proof is on the religious. And ... lots morekoolman2
First: loved the show, it was very informative. Second: athiesm is NOT a religion. Dictionary.com defines "religion" as, "1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe..." The same site also defines "atheism" as, "1. the doctrine or belief that there is no God," or, "2. disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings." Atheism is the lack of belief of any form of supreme being - that's it. There is no set atheistic belief in where the universe came from, each atheist comes to that belief on his own. Since ... lots moreFatAnorexic
28th! Yes I know it's not as good as third place, but It still says I'm in dernit! Very interesting and fairly funny. Anyways it's this show then back to watching Something Something Darkside-tis Family Guy for those of you who aren't in the know XD.kulika
LIFE HAS MEANING AGAIN AT LAST!!!Ingrid [22]
Wow, I love how you guys keep teaching me stuff about the English language, I keep learning things with you guys. Zealousness, awesome word, I have to remember that one :P . Further more, Awesome episode, I don't know that much about the founding of America and stuff, but ... morehaleymathiot
Thank you for this video!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! people need to know the truth. would you believe me if i knew the answer to your first pop quiz right away because i've done some research on this topic? whatev. maybe it's my homeschooler zealousness. i think i'll put a link to this video ... moresteph {207}
YES! Welcome back and what a great show to start out with! I'm adding this one to my favorites list! Equals D!Nospinplease
OMGGGG!!! =D welcome back! i missed you guys. and i actually searched for the phrase myself a while back, out of curiousity... when i didnt find it in the constitution. i was puzzeled. it all makes sense now. thanks!grimhold
First, glad to see you two back Second, loved the show Third, most of the founding fathers felt they were making a Christians state and meant for it to be a place where Christians could worship GOD and the Christ in peace and safety their own way and did not really care ... moreTeagan [22]
... I <3 you guys.GameDroid98
HOORAY!!! The Brothers Winn are back! Excellent show you guys, but it's kind of cutting it close on your "new show in the first two weeks of December" promise. But know you have a new WYOTK quote... I HAVE THE POWER!!! Equals Dthe pants eater [22]
I am no doubt excited to see you guys back in action, but I must say, I don't like the theme song.hydrohead
Best WYOTK Ever!nick
First I got the quiz right, and second I disagree with your statement that the only reason churches don't endorse political candidates is to keep their tax exempt status. I think it is because there is no candidate that upholds every religious standard found in the bible, or whatever text that specific church uses. Also the part about the United States not being a christian nation you were correct about the fact that there is no government endorsed religion, however I believe most Americans would say they are christian, even if they don't uphold the standards in the ... lots moresudhir
I do not know why History Channel cannot understand this simple fact that they are so BORING. There only chance to make their shows interesting is by involving you guys. But i guess they are Bozo who never learns from their mistakeschancemuse
Awesome show, very interesting!Kel [22]
Glad to see you back! Space out those new episodes, ok? I don't want them to run out too quickly.Samuel
You're back! this is pretty interesting. Did you get a new mike or something? cause it sounds different.montymontgomeri
this is extremely interesting.gettoman
Awesome post! So appropriate for the crap going on in today's political nightmare! I learnt a lot in that one! You should do a whole 1.5 hour long show on History Channel with that stuff!overlord
yay your back..awesome stuff guys love it equals Dcburningham
Where am I supposed to turn in my essay?Dandapani [22]
Welcome back! Good vid. Right down the middle with the facts. Nice.BlueX273
YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOHHOOO!!!!! You guy are finnally back!!!!! WOOOHOO!!!!!sudhir
At Last Brothers Winn you are again active. i am so glad to find your new video again. I started watching your shows in October and "binged watched" all your shows in a week or so. I used to check every now and then for your new video. The world ... morePheonix_blu{207}
Hey!! This isn't Tuesday! Aww forget it, I'm just glad you guys are back for a few weeks. Great video by the way. Equals D!!!The Informant
Whoo!! New episode's always bring Equals D's to my face! Keep them up, guys! <3CrazyDave
w00t, does it get better than He-Man?? and Thomas Jefferson?? and The Brothers Winn??? ...pure awesomeness mixed with zealousness, shaken not stired...Curtis [22]
Argh, second. Oh, I'm so mad. I should've won. You cheated. Wanna play again? Anyway, welcome back. Good history, and it was insiteful. Thanks. See ya next week.The Brothers Winn
First! (Sorry, but I've wanted to do that forever.) Hope you all enjoy the show. We will have another for you next week. And the week after I think. We'll see. It all depends on how much fudge Camera Guy ends up eating.