[Conservative Coulter Fan]

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."

Congress is the Legislative Branch of the Federal Government. The establishment of religion is a reference to national religion and clearly free exercise includes public expression, which the founding fathers themselves expressed.

The Founding Fathers and Deism

Republic v. Democracy

The Myth Behind "Separation of Church and State"

America: Our Christian Heritage, Our History and Faith in God

[jwalsh07]

President Bush knocked down the wall. He sent a letter to a Baptist minister in Danbury, Ct explaining that a Presidents privat letter to a minister could not be used to set precedent for a "wall" by a mindless Supreme Court.

Easy come, easy go.

[Zacs Mom]

[Conservative Coulter Fan]

Bump!

[CharlesThe Hammer]

Thanks for the historically accurate, if somewhat esoteric, post on the widely misunderstood notions about "separation of church and state". The current problem with respect to the establishment clause is that the radical secularists, nihilists really, seek to "establish" their belief in "no God", a nullity, as the state religion. For them, it is not enough to prevent collusion or preference by any one denomination and the government. They insist on elevating their own belief, their deity if you will, in the form of a big zero, a nothing. By this ruse, a logical fallacy, they establish a nullity as the preferred entity. Belief in nothing must reign supreme. The only acceptable spiritual position then becomes a self-absorbed, navel gazing paen to the temporal and secular.

[jcb8199]

This is an awesome Post! I love that "they" quote the "wall of separation," phrase that is NO WHERE in our legal founding documents...

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

The establishment clause referred only to making one particular denomination of Christianity (Anglican or Congregationalist predominantly) the official state church of a government. It does not authorize promoting secular humanism or anti-Christianity as the official ideology of the government or of American society.

Prayer in Congress, prayer and Bible studies in schools were accepted and were a normal part of American culture. Totalitarian secular humanism is a misinterpretation of what the establishment clause was about. And a pretty stupid misinterpretation. Jefferson's "wall of separation" metaphor reflects his own opinion and is not in the U.S. Constitution. It has no legal status or force of law.

[Hebrews 11:6]

We need to replace "Separation of Church and State" with a more accurate phrase. I suggest "Non-establishment of Religion."

[Tailgunner Joe]

bttt

[Rockitz]

Additional support for Barton's interpretation of "separation of church and state" would be the establishment or attempt to establish a statewide religion by a governor or a state legislature. Do you know if there is any such evidence? I don't know where to begin to look.

[Rockitz]

I did a search on "state religion" in Wikipedea and found that numerous states had establihed state religions including Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_religion