Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!iuvax!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: plaisted@cs.unc.edu (David Plaisted) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Separation of church and state Message-ID:Date: 12 Aug 89 02:05:23 GMT Lines: 18 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu A recent posting asserted that Constantine supported the separation of church and state. I find this disturbing. Obviously we are using the term ``separation of church and state'' in radically different ways. The use of the same term with entirely different meanings, engenders misunderstanding. Constantine promoted toleration of Christianity, which is compatible with the separation of church and state. However, he also passed legislation favorable to Christianity over other religions. In addition, he passed Sunday legislation that discriminated against those Christians and Jews who kept the Sabbath on Saturday. As the head of the Roman pagan religious system, he had the title Pontifus Maximus. I do not know if he assumed the same function with regard to the Christian church. Still, this does not mean that he promoted church state separation. Dave Plaisted plaisted@cs.unc.edu