Quote Originally Posted by RoadToad View Post
People who want to see religion forced into government love to point out the fact that the words "separation of church and state" do not appear in the Constitution. Yes, that is true, the words are not there, but the concept is found throughout, most notably in the First Amendment. If you doubt that that's what the framers had in mind, then look to their private writings. We all know Thomas Jefferson was one of the main "authors" of our Constitution. He wrote the following in 1802, in a letter to the Danbury Baptists Association: "I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State." This was the origin of the phrase, which was later quoted by the Supreme Court, which was how it eventually found its way into common use. So, you can deny it all you want, but you cannot change the fact that "separation of church and state" is, and always has been, a governing principle of the United States of America.
As the commercial says, "not exactly".

The Danbury Baptists wrote to Jefferson because they were concerned about government encroaching on their religious liberties. The "Wall of separation between church and state" Jefferson referred to was the Constitutional promise to keep government out of religion, not to keep religion out of government.