I once taught a class focusing on Roger Williams, an early proponent of church-state separation, in the American colonies in the 1600s. He was instrumental in the founding of Rhode Island as a place to escape Puritan rule in Massachusetts.
While we were in Quebec, we learned about the quiet revolution where people rebelled against the Catholic Church’s intrusion into government. It seemed as if the Catholic Church was running everything telling people how to live the minutest part of their lives. The result was a separation of church and state and reaction against the church such that these days few people attend mass, even though they somewhat identify as Catholic.
During my university years, I did much reading about the early middle ages in Europe, where Bishops and Cardinals of the church, and indeed even the pope, exerted much influence over the kings and princes of Europe. Of course, then came the reformation leading to extended and prolonged wars between protestants and Catholics. After more than 100 years of war, no wonder Europeans, tired of such extreme religious fervor.
Humans must have a need for certainty. In this era look at Iran, where a religious government took over from an only mildly corrupt secular government. It has lasted for some years, but people are growing tired, even there, of the extreme religious intrusion into daily life.
Even in America founded on the idea of separation of church and state there is a movement of religious fundamentalism seeking to install a Christian government trying to have the government intrude minutely into peoples daily lives.
I was just reading in Matthew’s Gospel chapter four about the beginning of Jesus ministry. Matthew says that theme was gods kingdom. Not our kingdom, but gods kingdom.
I stand amazed at the number of humans seeking to replace God with themselves—in the name of God.
Some of us simply wish to follow Jesus’ call to love and service.
Faith Venture 
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