The phrase prohibits Congress, and therefore the Federal government, from making any laws regarding religion. That right was left to the individual states, many of which had been settled by those fleeing religious persecution, and those states had established religions at the time of the revolution. The founders therefore meant to prohibit the federal government from meddling in religion.
Sorry, no. It means no more or less than the federal government may not establish a religion as the official one of the United States. If memory serves, one of the first acts of the first Congress was to fund religious missionaries to hector the Indians.
But if the 9th Circuit finds mentions of God so offensive, perhaps the federal government should withdraw all currency from the states in the 9th Circuit. They get to have our money if and when we decided to delete "In God We Trust." Wouldn't want to offend them.
From Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion in today’s school voucher decision:
The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” On its face, this provision places no limit on the States with regard to religion. The Establishment Clause originally protected States, and by extension their citizens, from the imposition of an established religion by the Federal Government.2 Whether and how this Clause should constrain state action under the Fourteenth Amendment is a more difficult question.
The Fourteenth Amendment fundamentally restructured the relationship between individuals and the States and ensured that States would not deprive citizens of liberty without due process of law. It guarantees citizenship to all individuals born or naturalized in the United States and provides that “[n]o State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” As Justice Harlan noted, the Fourteenth Amendment “added greatly to the dignity and glory of American citizenship, and to the security of personal liberty.” Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537, 555 (1896) (dissenting opinion). When rights are incorporated against the States through the Fourteenth Amendment they should advance, not constrain, individual liberty.
Consequently, in the context of the Establishment Clause, it may well be that state action should be evaluated on different terms than similar action by the Federal Government. “States, while bound to observe strict neutrality, should be freer to experiment with involvement [in religion]–on a neutral basis–than the Federal Government.” Walz v. Tax Comm’n of City of New York, 397 U.S. 664, 699 (1970) (Harlan, J., concurring). Thus, while the Federal Government may “make no law respecting an establishment of religion,” the States may pass laws that include or touch on religious matters so long as these laws do not impede free exercise rights or any other individual religious liberty interest. By considering the particular religious liberty right alleged to be invaded by a State, federal courts can strike a proper balance between the demands of the Fourteenth Amendment on the one hand and the federalism prerogatives of States on the other.3