Said separating is NOT a constitutional mandate, it is however, a wise policy by both the church and the state, just as Jefferson stated in a private letter! The Constitution only forbids Congress to make laws regarding religion. It certainly did not forbid religious individuals from being appointed to the high courts to interpret laws!
I'm afraid the militant muslims are the Nazis of the 21st century and are without souls in their terrorism, IMHO.
I'm also sensing a terrible division amongst conservatives between the secular and religious. It has become especially appearant here in CA since the Riordan/Simon clash in the Republican Primary and even has begun showing it's ulgy side here on FR during the Recall.
Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity, Islam are all under attack these days as the liberal humanist media tries to lump all Fundamentalists into a marginalized postion with Islamic Fundamentalists. This is quite dangerous and must not be allowed to stand!
Just because even constitutional fundamentalists have minimum standards/ideals, they are portrayed as rigid absolutists that can't be bent, so they must be broken, or at least brow-beaten as I've seen even here on FR in recent weeks. I think that is wrong, too. (just my opinion)