Did the founders
put in place Separation of Church and State in our founding documents?
Despite there being absolutely no reference to that separation in our
founding documents, many incorrectly use the phrase to make some point,
usually that there is no place for religion (particularly Christianity)
in the public square. Among
other things, the First
Amendment simply prevents the government from establishing a state
religion and prevents the government from preventing anybody from
exercising their religion.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ..."
The founders saw how the Church of England had been used by
the monarchy and wanted no part of a state sponsored religion in the
fabric of the country they wanted to create.
So what does Separation of Church and State mean historically?
The origin of the expression “separation of church and state” is found in a letter from Thomas Jefferson written to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802. The Danbury Baptist Association had written a letter to the president voicing their concern that their state constitution lacked specific protections of religious freedom.
The Danbury Baptists wrote in the letter, “what religious privileges we enjoy (as a minor part of the State) we enjoy as favors granted, and not as inalienable rights. And these favors we receive at the expense of such degrading acknowledgments, as are inconsistent with the rights of freemen.”
Jefferson responded to the Danbury Baptists by referencing the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.
“I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State,” Jefferson said.
Jefferson's intent was to assure the Danbury Baptists that they
would be protected FROM government interference in their public and
private exercise of religion and not to keep religion out of the public
square. Jefferson was completely in favor of having religion in the public square as evidenced
by; 1) While president of the Washington DC board of education he
wanted the Bible as the primary text, 2) he attended church services
held in the U.S. Capitol and the local courthouse, 3) he envisioned his
university in Virgina to be open to study any religion on the grounds
and in the buildings, 4) Jefferson's notion of "impartial regulations"
on the use of school grounds for religious exercise.
So when did this understanding change? Two landmark supreme court rulings in 1947 and 1948; Everson vs. Board of Education and McCollum vs Board of Education. These
5-4 decisions by a rather Progressive Supreme Court completely reversed
the historical meaning of the Separation of Church and State that
Jefferson had intended and did not consider any historical understandings
of his intentions. These decisions led to the attempted banning of
anything religious in any publicly funded institution. Yes, the Supreme
Court got it wrong.
Recent Supreme Court decisions have begun to reverse the notion that
freedom from religion is embodied in the Separation of Church and State
to be more aligned with Jefferson's original conception. Consider Carson v. Makin. In this 6-3 decision, the Court struck down a Maine law that banned
the use of public tuition assistance for religious schools. It held
that states cannot discriminate in student-aid programs against parents
who choose a religious education for their children. Several Supreme Court decisions have chipped away at restrictions against using public funds in religious institutions. In Kennedy v. Bremerton,
the six conservative justices affirmed a coach’s right to offer a
prayer after a football game. We are moving in a direction where the
"free exercise thereof" has a larger emphasis in our society.
Hope you know more about the phrase Separation of Church and State. A 9-minute video explaining Separation of Church and State for those who don't know origin and meaning.