Actually, that's not in the Bible

[jcb]

So what did he ever say that indicates he thought religion belonged IN government? I don't believe he pictured this as a one-way wall.

I'm not aware of anything more specific than this letter regarding Jefferson's view of the relationship between church and state. A "one-way wall" probably is not the best way to describe what I think Jefferson believed, but my point is that today people are erroneously using Jefferson's phrase "wall of separation between church and state" to mean something Jefferson never meant.

To put it simply, I think the Establishment Clause has been interpreted far too broadly in recent years.

[RoadToad]

I'm not aware of anything more specific than this letter regarding Jefferson's view of the relationship between church and state. A "one-way wall" probably is not the best way to describe what I think Jefferson believed, but my point is that today people are erroneously using Jefferson's phrase "wall of separation between church and state" to mean something Jefferson never meant.

I wasn't aware of anything more specific either, until I just read this article on CNN's website: http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/07/0...rds/index.html
The proof of his belief that church & state should always be separate can be found in the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which he drafted. Wikipedia has the full text of the statute here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgini...igious_Freedom but the gist of it is in the last paragraph: "Be it enacted by General Assembly that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened (sic) in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of Religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities."

One of the arguments for separation that you hear from religious scholars is that combining religion and government isn't just bad for government, it's also bad for religion. Jefferson obviously understood that. He wrote, "that it tends only to corrupt the principles of that very Religion it is meant to encourage." And one reason that he gives, that I find particularly eloquent, is this: "and finally, that Truth is great, and will prevail if left to herself, that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them..."

I also was very interested to learn that "the first House of Representatives, while debating the First Amendment, specifically rejected a Senate proposal calling for the establishment of Christianity as an official religion."

To put it simply, I think the Establishment Clause has been interpreted far too broadly in recent years.

I see just the opposite occurring. The "wall of separation" that Jefferson regarded so highly has been steadily eroding, especially since FDR inserted "under God" into the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954. And as I learn more about our history, I become more and more convinced that our Founding Fathers would be dismayed to see it.

[HURRICANEBOB]

I support seperation of church and state. I'd hate to see God's reputation tarnished by the crazy things politicians do.