[rustbucket]

I'm glad too, but the point is that the "no establishment" clause doesn't mean what the contemporary courts say it means.

You may well be correct. Six states had some form of establishment after the Revolution. They gradually dropped them, a wise move I think. Massachussetts did so in 1833.

In America we avoided the insanity that had gone on in Europe with its wars of religion, where Catholics burned Protestants at the stake and Protestants desecrated Catholic churches. Indeed, Catholic/Protestant strife is still going on in parts of Europe.

In America some states established particular denominations, while others favored Protestant churches in general. Maryland established Christian churches in general so that Catholic churches could be included. Others, like Rhode Island, had separation of church and state. Imagine trying to force all that together. Thank goodness for the First Amendment.

[Frapster]

In America we avoided the insanity that had gone on in Europe with its wars of religion, where Catholics burned Protestants at the stake and Protestants desecrated Catholic churches. Indeed, Catholic/Protestant strife is still going on in parts of Europe.

In the 1930's and 1940's the Catholics in Roswell, NM used to throw rocks on top of the tin roof at my parents local church during services in an effort to disrupt and drive them away. :-)