Separation of Church and State: What Does it Mean?

Recently, the National Day of Prayer debate spawned yet another public flogging of the religiously observant. “Separation of church and state” was invoked from start to finish to end the debate and send the Zealots back to their caves. After all, that phrase is one of the most well known political catch-phrases in America, and it seems that few have dared to defend themselves against it.

It is not just a rallying cry for citizens opposed to the official establishment of a particular religion, but also the name of a national group and the raison d’etre for several other groups, like the American Civil Liberties Union. It is the ultimate Constitutional trump card, played often and just as often not rebutted. Inevitably, any discussion about the role of religion in public life has this favorite phrase invoked, and in this day and age, it’s pretty much treated like a silver bullet, ending all debate and discussion.

Advocates for ‘separation of church and state’ like the sound of the phrase, and they say it often, but what does it really mean, and where does it come from?

Despite its supposed Constitutional origins, the phrase (and the individual words) ‘separation of church and state’ do not appear anywhere in the Constitution or in any of its Amendments, nor in the Declaration of Independence. Isn’t it odd that such a fundamental cornerstone of modern secular America isn’t actually Constitutional? Go ahead, look it up. I’ll pay $100.00 on the spot to anyone who can find this phrase, or any parts of it, in our nation’s founding documents. It isn’t there, in whole or in part.

Rather, the ‘separation of church and state’ is a sentiment expressed first by President Thomas Jefferson in 1802, to the Baptist congregation in Danbury, Connecticut. Jefferson’s letter was in response to a complaint by the congregation’s leaders, and his genial if ambiguous missive embraced religious scruples, affirmed the centrality of religion in American life, and established in tone the live-and-let-live attitude that usually prevailed in America until the 1970s.

So, if the supposed, yet definitive, defense and shield against too much religion in public life and in public places is not derived or descended from our Constitution, what do our founding documents say about the subject?

Not surprisingly, the Constitution is explicit on this subject, and the plain reading of it is contrary to that favorite catch-phrase that we all know: Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;….

That is, according to the First Amendment, citizens may freely exercise their religious freedom, and government shall not establish an official religion, which was the great fear in Revolutionary times. At that time, the Anglican Church of England was used as a gateway into professions, political circles, and private business opportunity. With the weight of the government behind it, the official, established Anglican religion crushed different views and forced an orthodoxy that was contrary to the freedoms and individual liberties envisioned by the Founders and which were popular during the Enlightenment. America’s Founders reacted against this inherent unfairness by outlawing it, and simultaneously protecting citizens’ rights to believe and act religiously as they freely chose.

Yet, our Founders also engaged in a remarkable amount of intermingling of church and state, that by today’s standards would be deemed “unconstitutional” by Liberals. Of course, who would know better what the Constitution meant than the Founders? Upon swearing his oath of office upon a Bible, George Washington led a parade to Trinity Church in lower Manhattan, where he engaged in deep prayer with many local citizens as well as those of note. During Jefferson’s presidency and afterwards, non-denominational church services were held within the chambers of Congress and were considered to be part and parcel of official duties. After all, at that time contemplation, reflection, and prayer were considered necessary to making good laws.

Today, we are told that the ‘separation of church and state’ prevents prayer in school and also prevents many other simple aspects of traditional American practice and culture. But if we read the First Amendment in its plain meaning, we see that the modern application of our favorite phony, but popular, phrase has it all backwards: If students are freely exercising their religion in school, then how does that free exercise become misconstrued to itself establish religion? In other words, since when did praying in a public place officially establish religion there? If being religious violates the Constitution, then what freedom do we truly have?

The only explanation for this bizarre twist of modern logic is that Liberalism has been making war on America’s traditional institutions and beliefs for a long time, and the place of prayer in public life is just one more front in that war. According to Liberal thinking, the simple act of engaging in religious practice itself establishes religion, and is therefore subject to control and limitation. Liberals are not afraid of an Anglican Church of America; they are afraid of church (and synagogue), period. They have turned the Constitution on its head, and by deliberately twisting its plain meaning into a pretzel shape, they have subverted and choked off the liberties accorded to all Americans by their Constitution.

As a candidate for the U.S. Congress, I pledge to you to always follow the obvious and plain meaning of the Constitution, and to rely upon the wisdom of our common Father, and our Founding Fathers, without fear or shame. This is our nation, and we all deserve a place in it, all of us, of all faiths. America’s Judeo-Christian roots belong front and center not only in private life, but in public life, as well. These are, after all, the beliefs that made our nation great and which afforded the greatest number of citizens the greatest amount of liberty.