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...