by Maureen Totterer

Created on: October 07, 2009   Last Updated: January 18, 2011

The argument for or against separation of church and state continues to distract while the extra-constitutional "wall of separation" becomes more permeable to humanistic influences. The phrase "separation of church and state" is not found in the Constitution but is wrongfully used as a metaphor for the Establishment Clause found in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights: 

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of  grievances." 

When nativity scenes are removed from government property, atheistic humanism replaces the vacuum left by the absence of the nativity scene. Humanism exists on the state side of separation and on the church side of separation. It is a religion and  should not be allowed to exist on both sides of the so-called "wall of separation".

"Secular humanism is a humanist philosophy that upholds reason, ethics, and justice and specifically rejects rituals and ceremonies as a means to affirm a life stance. The term was coined in the 20th century to make a clear distinction from "religious humanism." A perhaps less confrontational synonym is scientific humanism, which the biologist Edward O. Wilson claimed to be " the only world view compatible with science's growing knowledge of the real world and the laws of nature."  This causes one to see the two as separate and that is the crux of the problem. By keeping secular humanism separate from religious humanism, in the spirit of Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, the Supreme Court  is unable to make a fair judgment in cases involving separation of church and state and in doing so is wrongfully promoting and establishing a state religion.

"Some varieties of religious humanism, such as Christian humanism include belief in God, traditionally defined. Secular humanism is skeptical about God and the supernatural and believes that these are not useful concepts for addressing human problems." Christian Science is a branch of Christianity. It falls under the heading of religion. Secular and religious humanism fall under the catagory of humanism, a religion.

Secular humanism qualifies as a religion because it is a belief system. Religion can be defined as "the spiritual

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