SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE? A BETTER VIEW

The separation of Church and State cannot be used against the participation and involvement of the Church in shaping the politics of the country. Bishops, Clergy and Laity must be involved in the area of politics when moral and Gospel values are at stake (PCP-II,344).

The separation of Church and State is strictly defined in the 1987 Constitution to refer to the following :

1) That no religion may be established as the official religion of the State.
2) That the State may not favor one religion over the others.
3) The State shall forever allow the free exercise and enjoyment of religion and shall not require any religious test for the exercise of civil and political rights.

* the separation of Church and State does not require division between belief and public action, moral principles and political choices. Rather, the separation of Church and State protects the rights of believers and religious groups to practice their faith and act on their values in public life. The Constitution does not advocate for a separation of Church form the State at all, rather the protection of religious from the State.


"When the separation of Church and State begins to mean separating religious faith from public life, we begin to separate from morality and citizens from their consciences. and that leads to politics without character, which is now a national epidemic" -ARCHBISHOP CHARLES CHAPUT, DENVER COLORADO


-ARTICLE FROM A LEAFLET OF "ANG KAPATIRAN PARTY" CBCP MONITOR