RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN THE USA: SEPARATION BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE

Abstract

Religious freedom has been established as a fundamental right in the United States of America (U.S.A.). Thomas Jefferson’s famous ‘wall of separation’ metaphor has taken religious freedom under protection against possible oppression by the state, by building a high wall between church and state. Jefferson’s metaphor established the legal basis of religious freedom as a fundamental human right by defining the boundaries of church and state relations. James Madison also, the author of the U.S. Constitution, attributes a special importance to the church-state relations’ separation for religious freedom. The U.S. Constitution guaranteed freedom of religion in the first amendment. Türkiye is in search of a new and civilian constitution, which religion-state relations will undoubtedly have an important place. Therefore, we are interested in examining the American style of church and state relations. We hope that this article will provide a contribution to the constitutional debates in Türkiye for the civilian-drafted constitution for the first time. The new constitution is about planning to replace the 1982 Constitution, which was drafted after September 12, 1980 military coup.