The separation between Church and State

The active interest in, and participation of, both the Catholic Church and the Iglesia Ni Cristo in the affairs of the State calls our attention to a very fundamental principle and foundational philosophy embedded in our Constitution: the separation between the Church and the State. To what extent should religious sects and religions participate in government functions, national politics, and public administration?

The Filipinos who are active members of the Church are also citizens of the Republic. When they join their respective religious congregations, they also exercise their rights and perform their civic duties as citizens of the country. Thus, while there is separation of Church and State, it does not mean that separation is antagonism against each other or opposition by one and the other. The constituencies of the government are the same people who are also members of the Church. Both the Church and the State are two pillars that stand on the same foundation and support the same structure.

The roots of this principle of separation can be traced back to the early U.S. Baptist Church. In 1644, a Baptist minister and the founder of the State of Rhode Island as well as the First Baptist Church of America who first popularized what he called an imaginary dividing line between the wilderness of the government of the world and the garden of the Church. In 1802, the third U.S. president, Thomas Jefferson, expanded John Locke's philosophical thought that religion should not interfere with government and government should not impose itself on religion.

The Philippine Constitution enshrines this principle by declaring as a fundamental principle that the separation of the Church and the State shall be inviolable. This is reinforced by the Bill of Rights, which postulates that "No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights".

There are two aspects of the principle of separation: the establishment clause and the religious test clause. The first amendment of the U.S. Constitution from which we copied the establishment clause provided: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of a religion. Article VI, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution provides that “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” These two aspects are joined into what we have in Article III Section 5 of our own fundamental law.

There are far too many aspects and ramifications of this principle which, for lack of space and time, we shall rather discuss in future columns. Suffice it to say for the moment that the Church and State may be separate but they need not fight each other. After all, they serve the same people.