"We were discussing whether people claim the constitution literally contains the words 'separation of church and state'".
No, not originally, we weren't. You were discussing that, as you "moved the goalposts". The original statement was simply this:
Yet for decades, some organizations and individuals have spread the myth that the words “separation of church and state” are found in the U.S. Constitution.
I've given you two examples. Both of them "spread the myth". There are many more. Every time an organization comments along the lines of the "constitutional wall of separation between church and state", they are perpetuating the myth.
You're argument will no doubt degenerate into defending the intentions of those who spread the myth. This was, in fact, your argument for the AP reporter. Though we cannot know for certain, it's a fair gamble that there are an assortment of intentions.
Some are simply not careful enough, not realizing that they are perpetuating the myth. Some are probably believers in the myth themselves. I happen to believe the AP reporter fits in here. And some would find it very helpful to their cause to promote the myth.
To deny that anyone spreads the myth is almost to deny the existence of the myth at all.
As for your newly defined request, well I found some of those, too. None of them mention merely the "principle":
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One very significant reason for the separation of church and state in the Constitution was that the Founding ummm Fathers (Brothers?) were all too aware of how religious institutions and political institutions corrupted each other.
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I suppose we must thank the founding fathers of this great nation who enshrined the separation of church and state in the constitution.
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The separation of Church and State in the Constitution of the United States does not comprehend the spiritual reality of Indigenous Nations and Peoples.
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The founders didn't put the separation of church and state in the constitution for no reason, after all.
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"It's also hard to define our state as being secular since most Americans are religious." Is it that hard to define? I thought it was defined in the Constitution under "separation of church and state."
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Yes, but the separation of Church and State in the constitution is based on the realization that the power of religion to control people by regulating what they think should not, on the one hand, be augmented by the power of the gun, or, on the other, be in any way restricted.
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The separation of church and state in the Constitution was meant to prevent the establishment of a state religion, not to erase faith from the public square entirely.
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This is the purpose behind the separation of Church and State in the Constitution.
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But the Founding Fathers couldn't have been clearer about the separation of church and state in the Constitution and elsewhere.
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Apple is equally concerned about the contradictory nature of educational policies that allows public money for creating charter schools be used by homeschoolers to teach religious viewpoints that would otherwise violate the separation of church and state in the constitution.
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It is for this reason that you see the separation of church and state in the Constitution.
"We were discussing whether people claim the constitution literally contains the words 'separation of church and state'".
And then watchin replied
No, not originally, we weren't. You were discussing that, as you "moved the goalposts". The original statement was simply this:
Yet for decades, some organizations and individuals have spread the myth that the words “separation of church and state” are found in the U.S. Constitution.
...which is what I said. And since watchin has been unable to find a single instance of someone claiming that the words "separation of church and state" appear in the Constitution, he has turnied this into a discussion about what the meaning of 'is' is.
I didn't like the original Clinton, and I certainly don't like the third-rate imitation. Discussion over.