Killing The Myth: Separation of Church and State

If I've heard it once I've heard it 1000 times: We have to have separation of church and state. But there is a problem with that point of view. There is no such thing in America. When the U.S. Constitution was written, it included an amendment guaranteeing freedom of religion. It specifically reads: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. When that was written, the people understood what it meant. These days, not so much. Back then, England (and most of the rest of Europe), had state religions that were supported by the government. Not only was there a strong political interest in supporting "their" religion, but also suppressing other ones. To keep that from happening in America, a guarantee was inserted into the founding document that the government would not poke its nose in the religious faith of its citizens. Many people these days, though, misinterpret the amendment. It is not a prohibition against people expre