Separation of Church and State

Where in the U.S. Constitution does it say there is a Constitutional mandate for the "separation of church and state"? Nowhere.

The first amendment is the only reference to religion in the Constitution.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

What does this mean?

It means quite simply that the Congress of the United States may not establish a national religion in the manner of the countries of Europe at the time, such as the relationship that the Church of England had to England or the Roman Catholic Church had to the Holy Roman Empire.

It means that the Congress of the United States may not pass laws that restrict free exercise of religion, such as was the case in the countries of Europe at the time, most of which said that you must only worship in the manner of the official state church with only limited exceptions.

It means that the Congress of the United States may pass laws that favor religion, generally, as long as it is not favoring one specific religious institution over all others.

It also means that individual states may pass laws either establishing a state religion or restricting religious freedom, since the first amendment only stipulates what Congress may or may not do, and the tenth amendment elaborates that the states may do anything not specifically given to Congress and not explicitly prohibited to the states.

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Yes, that may be a scary thought, that Utah may establish the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as the official religion of the state or that Massachusetts may prohibit the exercise of religion in any form other than Darwinism or secular humanism. However, that's what the Constitution says. Now, don't worry, state constitutions tend to protect religious freedoms and prohibit favoring one religion over all others as "official," but any that don't certainly could.

Personally, I don't want any state to do that, but I recognize the right of a state to do that if its own constitution allows it. If you live in a state that goes to either extreme, either change it through the democratic process or move to another state. That's the great thing about this country.