In 1905, France made a bold move by formally separating the Church from the State. Long before that, in 1786, Jefferson drafted the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. This statute allowed people to follow their own beliefs and laid the groundwork for the First Amendment. Both actions were daring at the time, challenging established powers to support personal freedom. Fast forward to today, and Bitcoin is taking a similar risk, this time with currency. If the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries sought to free faith from political control, the twenty-first century may be working to free money from the influence of any central authority. I. Lessons from History: Why Separation Matters “No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship.” — Jefferson, Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom (1786) “No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship.” — Jefferson, Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom (1786) Jump to the present, and Bitcoin is following that example, but now its target is the monetary system. The 18th and 19th centuries were dominated by fights over stripping politics from the temple; maybe the 21st is the era when we finally pry money loose from the folks in the seat of power. Philosophers from Locke onward insisted that government may legislate conduct but not conscience. Locke’s A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689) contended that the soul lies beyond state authority. Jefferson sharpened the lesson. His 1786 statute announced that "no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship," a straightforward repudiation of any confessional favor. Jefferson’s articulation of religious neutrality became a fulcrum for the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Bill of Rights. In 1905, the French government enacted the well-known Loi de Séparation, which stated flatly, “The Republic neither recognizes, nor pays, nor subsidizes any religion.” The law was not hostile to faith itself; rather, it sought to eliminate any form of coercion. The guiding idea was simple and firm: any belief should spring from personal conviction, not from the pressure of state or tradition. The analogy to money is clear: when the State controls the medium of exchange, it can impose hidden taxation (inflation), expropriation, or outright censorship. Monetary secularism means letting value flow freely, unmediated by political fiat. II. How the State Captured Money Until the 20th century, money and State power were connected but not yet fused. Gold and silver constrained rulers: printing excess currency risked bank runs or currency collapse. That changed in the 20th century: •	Federal Reserve Act (1913): centralized control of U.S. money supply. Federal Reserve Act (1913) •	Executive Order 6102 (1933): outlawed private gold ownership forced Americans to exchange their gold at a fixed rate. This serves as a reminder that State-controlled money can be taken away by decree. Executive Order 6102 (1933) •	Bretton Woods (1944): established the dollar as the world’s reserve currency, pegged to gold. Bretton Woods (1944) •	Nixon Shock (1971): unilaterally ended dollar-gold convertibility, turning all major currencies into fiat money, backed only by government decree. Nixon Shock (1971) Since then, central banks have had complete control over issuing currency. Inflation has acted like a hidden tax. This allows governments to pay for wars, cover deficits, and provide bailouts without asking for explicit approval from citizens. III. The Price of Monetary Fusion: Inflation as the “Invisible Tax” When Church and State were fused, dissenters paid with their freedom or their lives. When State and money are fused, citizens pay with their savings. •	Weimar Germany (1922–23): hyperinflation wiped out the middle class. Workers received pay twice a day to quickly buy bread before prices went up. Social collapse led to authoritarianism. Weimar Germany (1922–23) •	Zimbabwe (2000s): money printing to cover deficits led to 89.7 sextillion percent inflation in November 2008. This was the highest level ever recorded. Zimbabwe (2000s) •	Argentina (2010s–2020s): annual inflation consistently above 40%, often crossing 100%, turning pesos into hot potatoes rather than stores of value. Argentina (2010s–2020s) Inflation is not just about economics; it’s also about political control. It quietly transfers wealth from savers to debtors and from workers to governments. It acts like taxation without representation. IV. Beyond Inflation: Censorship and Confiscation in the Modern Era The fusion of State and money doesn’t just debase savings; it politicizes payment itself. •	Cyprus 2013 Bail-In: depositors with balances over €100,000 lost almost half their savings as banks pulled in customer funds to restore their capital. It became clear that deposits were not government property; instead, they were bank credits that could be revoked. Cyprus 2013 Bail-In •	Financial Sanctions & Software Censorship: in 2022, U.S. authorities sanctioned Tornado Cash, an open-source Ethereum mixer, and arrested a developer. For the first time, writing code, an act of speech, was treated as a sanctionable offense. Financial Sanctions & Software Censorship Just as medieval rulers enforced orthodoxy with the Inquisition, modern states enforce monetary orthodoxy through the banking system. Your bank account is not yours; it is a conditional license that can be taken away at any moment. V. Bitcoin as the First True Separation of Money and State Bitcoin, launched in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto, is designed precisely to resist these abuses. •	Scarcity by Design: The supply is capped at 21 million coins, with issuance halved every ~4 years. Unlike fiat, no committee can vote to inflate supply. Scarcity by Design •	Neutral Infrastructure: Transactions are validated by miners globally, with no central authority. The system’s rules are enforced by cryptography and consensus, not decree. Neutral Infrastructure •	Censorship Resistance: Anyone can broadcast a transaction from anywhere, and unless an overwhelming majority of the network colludes, it will be validated. Censorship Resistance This is monetary secularism in practice: rules without rulers, belief without coercion. Critics highlight energy use, but Bitcoin reflects the Reformation in this aspect. The printing press used ink, paper, and forests, yet it promoted literacy and reduced clerical control. Bitcoin miners use electricity, but they are increasingly tapping into stranded or renewable energy. They turn waste into security. VI. The Parallels with Religious Secularism The analogy is not just rhetorical, it is structural: •	Then: The State claimed to define “true religion.” Then •	Now: The State claims to define “legal tender.” Now •	Then: The Inquisition censored texts and punished heresy. Then •	Now: Regulators censor software, freeze accounts, and punish financial dissent. Now •	Then: Locke and Jefferson argued for conscience free from coercion. Then •	Now: Bitcoiners argue for money free from manipulation. Now Religious freedom didn’t abolish religion, it created a marketplace of beliefs. Similarly, monetary freedom won’t abolish fiat, it will create a marketplace of monies. The best will win by voluntary adoption. VII. Objections and Rebuttals Volatility: Yes, Bitcoin is volatile compared to established fiat. But volatility is a byproduct of monetization, gold, too, was volatile when first adopted. Over decades, Bitcoin’s fixed issuance and growing adoption reduce uncertainty. Volatility Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) Will Solve This: CBDCs may offer efficiency but at the cost of privacy and programmability. Even the European Central Bank admits trade-offs between “privacy” and compliance. In reality, CBDCs expand surveillance; they are the opposite of separation. Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) Will Solve This Energy Use: Bitcoin’s proof-of-work is energy intensive, but so were cathedrals. Energy consumption is not waste when it secures an open monetary system. Moreover, miners increasingly use stranded energy and renewables, often stabilizing grids rather than straining them. Energy Use VIII. Toward a “Monetary Laïcité” If secularism means that the State should not determine religious truth, then monetary secularism means that the State should not determine monetary truth. This would entail: Legal protection of self-custody: the right to hold one’s own keys, like the right to own books or practice worship.
Neutral tax treatment: de minimis exemptions for everyday Bitcoin payments.
Open-source freedom: code as speech, protected from censorship.
Pluralism of monies: allow free competition between Bitcoin, fiat, and others, letting citizens decide. Legal protection of self-custody: the right to hold one’s own keys, like the right to own books or practice worship. Neutral tax treatment: de minimis exemptions for everyday Bitcoin payments. Open-source freedom: code as speech, protected from censorship. Pluralism of monies: allow free competition between Bitcoin, fiat, and others, letting citizens decide. Hayek argued for “Denationalisation of Money” in the 1970s. Bitcoin operationalizes it. IX. The New Reformation The separation of Church and State did not happen quickly. It took centuries of war, oppression, printing presses, and courageous dissenters to end the dominance of faith. The separation of state and money will not be easy. However, the principle remains the same: coercion corrupts. Freedom liberates. Bitcoin is like the printing press of money. It is a neutral tool that makes coercion harder and choice easier. The Reformation gave us the freedom to believe. Bitcoin provides the freedom to transact. And like secularism, it does not ask for faith, only for neutrality. Yesterday, the State lost its monopoly on religion. Tomorrow, it may lose its monopoly on money. Yesterday, the State lost its monopoly on religion. Tomorrow, it may lose its monopoly on money.

The is an opinion piece based on the author’s POV and does not necessarily reflect the views of HackerNoon.

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Separating State and Money: Bitcoin as the New Wall Between Power and Freedom

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