<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 20px; "><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000099"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Dear WM, </span></font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000099"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br></span></font></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-size: x-small; ">Political freedom requires a separation of church and state. This principle is often advocated, but seldom fully understood. Properly, this separation is rooted in the principle of intellectual freedom. It means that every individual should be free to think about and accept any idea he chooses.</span></div>
<div><p style="margin-top: 1.2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; ">
<font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000099"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">To say that church is separate from state means that the state makes no evaluation of its citizens’ ideas, religious or otherwise. The state’s concern is only with men’s actions, specifically actions that trespass on individual rights. It neither persecutes nor tolerates nor promotes ideas—because it is unconcerned with ideas per se.</span></font></p>
<p style="margin-top: 1.2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; ">
<font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000099"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">From the other direction, to say that state is separate from church, means that a citizen—including any faction of them, such as a church—is incapable of using the state’s coercive power to penalize or support ideas, religious or otherwise. If a citizen wants to hinder or support an idea, he must argue his case with others, not enact a law.</span></font></p>
<p style="margin-top: 1.2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; ">
<font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000099"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">In a free society, government has no power to persecute or establish religious ideas because it has no power to police ideas as such. No one, including those in government, may force their ideas on anyone.</span></font></p>
</div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000099"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">According to the Constitutional principle of the separation of Church and State, religion is a private matter; it should not be brought into public issues or into the province of government, and it should not be made a part of political movements. </span></font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000099"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000099"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Religions have lived in peace with one another and with nonreligious thinkers only since the 19th century, since the American establishment of the principle separating Church and State. Some of them, notably the Catholic Church, have never renounced their dream of regaining control of the State’s power of compulsion. Is this a goal that the advocates of political and religious freedom can support, assist or sanction? If this goal were to succeed, what would become of religious minorities? Or of those who hold no religion?</span></font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000099"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000099"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Not palatable at all. </span></font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000099"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000099"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">----- Principles for a free society (<a href="http://principlesofafreesociety.com/">http://principlesofafreesociety.com/</a>)</span></font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000099"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br></span></font></div></span><br><div class="gmail_quote">On 28 April 2010 01:08, Wainaina Mungai <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:wainaina@madeinkenya.org">wainaina@madeinkenya.org</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">Dear Fatma,<br>
<br>
You made me ask myself a pertinent question: "Is Kenya really a secular state?"<br>
<br>
Almost all political and other leaders mix their religious convictions<br>
with their statutory or political roles. From the President, his<br>
deputies, coucillors, chiefs, Headmasters, etc religion is apparent in<br>
their actions.<br>
<br>
We also have different by-laws in parts of Kenya that seem to be based<br>
on Islam, Christianity etc in various parts of Kenya.<br>
<br>
I wonder if Kenyans should simply be asked to vote for a state<br>
religion and make some provisions that accommodate the ''minority''<br>
religions. We'd have a State religion and have provisions on law that<br>
protect persons who do not profess that religion.<br>
<br>
How palatable is that?<br>
<br>
Wainaina<br>
<br>
--<br>
Sent from my mobile device<br>
<br>
Wainaina Mungai<br>
-----<br>
<a href="http://www.bungesms.com" target="_blank">http://www.bungesms.com</a><br>
<a href="http://www.madeinkenya.org" target="_blank">http://www.madeinkenya.org</a><br>
<a href="http://www.wainainamungai.com" target="_blank">http://www.wainainamungai.com</a><br>
<br>
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life<br>
of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by<br>
being shared. ~ Buddha~<br>
<br>
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</blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Very best wishes - June<br><br><br><br>June Arunga,<br>119 W 72nd Street,<br>New York, NY -10023<br><br>Tel: <br>(GH) +233 (0) 265-503-727<br>(US) + 1-347-681-4612 <br>
(US) + 1-240-551-7415 <br><br><br><br><br><br>