Separation of the

Church and State

Group 5
 Objectives
To know the difference between the church and state
To know about the misconceptions of church and state
To know about the laws that separates church qnd state
To know the advantages of the church to its protect the church
from state control
To know the concept of the separation of the church and state
To know how social justice affects the church-state seperation
 "Erecting the wall of separation
between church and state is
absolutely essential in a free society."
Thomas Jefferson
 Church
The word Church is come from the term of "ekklesia" which is
formed from two greek words meaning "an assembly" and "to
call out" or "the called out ones." The New Testament church is
a body of believes that has been called out from the world by
God to live as his people under the authority of Jesus Christ.
Church refers to a Christian doctrine, the Christian religious
community as a whole, or a body or organization of Christian
believers.
 State
State refers to the government. A
political organization of society, or the
body politic, or, more narrowly, the
institutions of government.
The term state (or a cognate) also
refers to political units that are not
sovereign themselves but subject to
the authority of the larger state, or
federal union.
 The Seperation of Church
and State
Separation of Church and State
is strictly defined in the 1987
Philippine Constitution to refer
to two points:
The First Point
No religion may be established
as the official religion of the
State
The Second Point
The State may not favor one
religion over others. At the
same time, state shall forever
allow the free exercise and
enjoyment of religion and shall
not require any religious test
for the exercise of civil or
political rights
Note: constitution prohibits clergy and
The fact that nowhere does the
religious from partisan politics. The
Church's laws and traditional wisdom
prohibit them from active involvement
in partisan politics.
 Social Justice: Separation of
Church and State
Social Justice: Seperation of Church and State If you want
social justice for women, for members of the LGBTQ
community, for nonbelievers and religious minorities, for
the poor, and for racial minorities, you should work for
separation of church and state. Because past examples of
oppression were almost always tied to a culturally
dominant hegemony that was white, affluent,
conservative, male-centric, and Christian. Anyone who
challenged this paradigm was accused of attacking faith,
God’s law, and the natural order of things. For decades,
arguments like this were used to keep people in their
(God-ordained) places of second-class citizenship,
poverty, and submission. Decoupling conservative
theology from government power is the first step toward
breaking those chains.
Misconceptions
of Church
and State
 This is not about what the Church is
forbidden to do – getting involved in
politics
There is no prohibition for the
Church or any religious groups from
involvement in the political sphere
The Church is not just the clergy – it
is also composed of laypeople.
It does not prevent the Church from
involvement in the social and
political field.
 "It is important to have a proper understanding of
what separation of Church and state really means.
Otherwise, its misunderstanding can be used to silence
the Church."
Laws that
seperates
Church
and State
THE 1987 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE
PHILIPPINES – ARTICLE II

Section 6. The separation of

Church and State shall be
inviolable.
THE 1987 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE
PHILIPPINES – ARTICLE III

Section 5. No law shall be made

respecting an establishment of
religion. No religious test shall be
required for the exercise of civil or
political rights.
 ADVANTAGES
OF THE
SEPARATION OF
CHURCH AND
STATE
 Reinforces the legal right of a free people to
freely live their faith, even in public; without fear
of government coercion.
It helps to prevent government from
promoting one religion or one sect over the
others
It prevents domination of the majority religious
group and violation of Fundamental Rights.
It protects the Church from state control and
interference.
Prohibits elected officials from selecting a
single dominant national religion
Thank You !