Should state and church be separated?

What is the effects on educational system can be expected if church and state were not separated?

• Answer:

  Opinion The doctrine of the separation of church and state was placed in the United States constitution in order to protect the rights of minority religions, rather than out of consideration of the impact, if any, on the education system. However, the intrusion of religion into public schools no doubt would have an effect on the system. One probable effect of mandatory prayers in schools would be for Muslims and adherents of other minority religions to leave the public schools system and attend religious schools. This would even further reduce social cohesion in the nation, as each side began to misunderstand the other and become suspicious of their motives. Arguably, social cohesion depends on a majority of children of all faiths to mix together in and after school. In smaller communities the fragmentation of the education system can result in limited resources and higher costs per child, with an impact on the quality of education. The United States already has the highest proportion of people outside the Islamic world, who believe in a "special creation" event, rather than the teachings of science. If religion had been allowed to take priority over science in public schools, then many American children would grow up with a more limited scientific education, reducing the ability of the nation to lead the world in scientific endeavours.