query: who started the separation of church and state

pos: Separation of church and state in the United States Separation of church and state in the United States "Separation of church and state" is paraphrased from Thomas Jefferson and used by others in expressing an understanding of the intent and function of the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution which reads: ""Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."" The phrase "separation between church & state" is generally traced to a by Thomas Jefferson, addressed to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut, and published in a Massachusetts newspaper. Jefferson wrote, Some argue

pos: Freedom of religion in the Philippines Church, but also diminished the influential clout it had during the Spanish colonial period. American jurisprudence reintroduced separation of church and state relying on the First Amendment and the metaphor of Thomas Jefferson on the "wall of separation... between church and state" , but the Philippine experience has shown that this theoretical "wall of separation" has been crossed several times by secular authorities. Schumacher states that in 1906, the Philippine Supreme Court intervened in the issue of parish ownership by returning assets seized by the Philippine Independent Church, while certain charitable organizations managed or influenced by the Roman Catholic Church

pos: Separation of church and state in the United States Isaac Bachus and John Leland joined forces with Deists and skeptics such as James Madison and Thomas Jefferson to fight for a complete separation of church and state." On the other hand, Charles C. Haynes noted in "The Washington Post" that: Robert N. Bellah has written that although the separation of church and state is grounded firmly in the constitution of the United States, this does not mean that there is no religious dimension in the political society of the United States. He used the term "Civil Religion" to describe the specific relation between politics and religion in the United

pos: Glenn L. Archer his faith in his famous speech before the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, delivered September 12, 1960 at the Rice Hotel in Houston Texas. In his memoir "The Dream Lives On", Archer praised Kennedy's views on Church-State separation, saying they were the best of any president since Thomas Jefferson. Glenn L. Archer Glenn L. Archer (1906–2002) was one of the founders and the first Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, formerly known as "Protestants and Other Americans United for Separation of Church and State". In its first years, a main focus of AU's activity was opposition

pos: History of religion in the United States Church was disestablished during the Revolution, and following the separation from Britain was reorganized as the independent Episcopal Church. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . ." In a letter written in 1802, Thomas Jefferson used the phrase "separation of church and state" to describe the combined effect of the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. Though "separation of church and state" does not appear in the Constitution, it has since

pos: Catholic Church in the Philippines to the establishment of religions (particularly Protestantism) within the country. In this era, in the first decade of 1900, Jorge Barlin was ordained as the first Filipino bishop of the Catholic Church. He was a bishop of the Archdiocese of Nueva Caceres. American colonization of the country, American jurisprudence reintroduced separation of church and state relying on the First Amendment and the metaphor of Thomas Jefferson on the ""wall of separation... between church and state"" , but the Philippine experience has shown that this theoretical "wall of separation" has been crossed several times by secular authorities. Schumacher states that in

pos: Separation of church and state in the United States at the state level. In 1773, Isaac Backus, a prominent Baptist minister in New England, wrote against a state-sanctioned religion, saying: "Now who can hear Christ declare, that his kingdom is, not of this world, and yet believe that this blending of church and state together can be pleasing to him?" He also observed that when "church and state are separate, the effects are happy, and they do not at all interfere with each other: but where they have been confounded together, no tongue nor pen can fully describe the mischiefs that have ensued." Thomas Jefferson's influential Virginia Statute for

pos: Separation of church and state in the United States and effect of the [First] Amendment." In "Everson v. Board of Education" (1947), Justice Hugo Black wrote: "In the words of Thomas Jefferson, the clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect a wall of separation between church and state." In contrast to separationism, the Supreme Court in "Zorach v. Clauson" upheld accommodationism, holding that the nation's "institutions presuppose a Supreme Being" and that government recognition of God does not constitute the establishment of a state church as the Constitution's authors intended to prohibit. As such, the Court has not always interpreted the constitutional principle as absolute,

pos: Separation of church and state submitted by President Adams and unanimously ratified by the Senate. In the 1892 case "Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States", Supreme Court Justice David Brewer wrote for a unanimous Court that "no purpose of action against religion can be imputed to any legislation, state or national, because this is a religious people. ... [T]his is a Christian nation." Legal historian Paul Finkelman writes that: The phrase "separation of church and state" is derived from a letter written by President Thomas Jefferson in 1802 to Baptists from Danbury, Connecticut, and published in a Massachusetts newspaper soon thereafter. In that

neg: Baptists in the history of separation of church and state Liberty. Freedom of conscience is a historic Baptist distinctive, and many Baptists continue to believe the best course for obtaining and securing freedom of conscience is through the separation of church and state. Baptists in the history of separation of church and state Separation of church and state is one of the primary theological distinctions of the Baptist tradition. Originally, Baptists supported separation of church and state in England and America. Some important Baptist figures in the struggle were John Smyth, Thomas Helwys, Edward Wightman, Leonard Busher, Roger Williams (who was a Baptist for a short period but became a

neg: Baptists in the history of separation of church and state Baptists in the history of separation of church and state Separation of church and state is one of the primary theological distinctions of the Baptist tradition. Originally, Baptists supported separation of church and state in England and America. Some important Baptist figures in the struggle were John Smyth, Thomas Helwys, Edward Wightman, Leonard Busher, Roger Williams (who was a Baptist for a short period but became a "Seeker"), John Clarke, Isaac Backus, and John Leland. In 1612 John Smyth wrote, "the magistrate is not by virtue of his office to meddle with religion, or matters of conscience". That same year,

neg: Separation of church and state in the United States constitutional amendments relating to the modern conception of separation of church and state (Blaine Amendments) were motivated by and intended to enact anti-Catholicism. J. Brent Walker, Executive Director of the Baptist Joint Committee, responded to Hamburger's claims noting; "The fact that the separation of church and state has been supported by some who exhibited an anti-Catholic animus or a secularist bent does not impugn the validity of the principle. Champions of religious liberty have argued for the separation of church and state for reasons having nothing to do with anti-Catholicism or desire for a secular culture. Of course, separationists have

neg: Freedom of religion in the United States wrote that the First Amendment erected a "wall of separation between church and state" likely borrowing the language from Roger Williams, founder of the First Baptist Church in America and the Colony of Rhode Island, who used the phrase in his 1644 book, "The Bloody Tenent of Persecution". James Madison, often regarded as the "Father of the Bill of Rights", also often wrote of the "perfect separation", "line of separation", "strongly guarded as is the separation between religion and government in the Constitution of the United States", and "total separation of the church from the state". Controversy rages in the

neg: Separation of church and state to as either "national churches" or "state churches", although officially they do not hold such positions. The Lutheran Church does not consider itself a state church, and prefers to use the term "national church". The Finnish Freethinkers Association has criticized the official endorsement of the two churches by the Finnish state, and has campaigned for the separation of church and state. The French version of separation of church and state, called laïcité, is a product of French history and philosophy. It was formalized in a 1905 law providing for the separation of church and state, that is, the separation of

neg: Separation of church and state Separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophic and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the nation state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular state (with or without legally explicit church–state separation) and to disestablishment, the changing of an existing, formal relationship between the church and the state. In a society, the degree of political separation between the church and the civil state is determined by the legal structures and prevalent legal views that define the proper relationship between organized religion and the

neg: Maurice Rouvier introduced the law on the separation of Church and State, heavily supported by Emile Combes, who had been strictly enforcing the 1901 voluntary association law and the 1904 law on religious congregations' freedom of teaching (more than 2,500 private teaching establishments were by then closed by the State, causing bitter opposition from the Catholic and conservative population). On 10 February 1905, the Chamber declared that "the attitude of the Vatican" had rendered the separation of Church and State inevitable and the law of the separation of church and state was passed in December, 1905. The disturbances arising in connection with

neg: Separation of church and state social shift that produced a culturally secular population and public sphere. In practice, church–state separation varies from total separation, mandated by the country's political constitution, as in India and Singapore, to a state religion, as in the Maldives. An important contributor to the discussion concerning the proper relationship between Church and state was St. Augustine, who in "The City of God", Book XIX, Chapter 17, examined the ideal relationship between the "earthly city" and the "city of God". In this work, Augustine posited that major points of overlap were to be found between the "earthly city" and the "city of

neg: Separation of church and state The issue of the role of the Catholic Church in Mexico has been highly divisive since the 1820s. Its large land holdings were especially a point of contention. Mexico was guided toward what was proclaimed a separation of church and state by Benito Juárez who, in 1859, attempted to eliminate the role of the Roman Catholic Church in the nation by appropriating its land and prerogatives. In 1859 the Ley Lerdo was issued – purportedly separating church and state, but actually involving state intervention in Church matters by abolishing monastic orders, and nationalizing church property. President Benito Juárez confiscated church

neg: Americans United for Separation of Church and State religious fundamentalism on the Christian right. and describes himself as a member of the Christian left. Americans United for Separation of Church and State Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Americans United or AU for short) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advocates separation of church and state. The separation of church and state is a legal doctrine set forth in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Americans United describes itself as officially non-sectarian

neg: Americans United for Separation of Church and State Americans United for Separation of Church and State Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Americans United or AU for short) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advocates separation of church and state. The separation of church and state is a legal doctrine set forth in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Americans United describes itself as officially non-sectarian and non-partisan. According to "The Praeger Handbook of Religion and Education in the United States" "It

neg: Separation of church and state in the United States States. His 1967 article analyzes the inaugural speech of John F. Kennedy: "Considering the separation of church and state, how is a president justified in using the word 'God' at all? The answer is that the separation of church and state has not denied the political realm a religious dimension." Robert S. Wood has argued that the United States is a model for the world in terms of how a separation of church and state—no state-run or state-established church—is good for both the church and the state, allowing a variety of religions to flourish. Speaking at the Toronto-based Center for

neg: Church and state in medieval Europe for control over who held ultimate authority, the King or the Pope. In England, the principle of separation of Church and State can be found in the Magna Carta. The first clause declared that the Church in England would be free from interference by the Crown. This reflected an ongoing dispute King John was having with the Pope over Stephen Langton's election as Archbishop of Canterbury, the result of which England had been under interdict for 7 years. The barons, who forced King John to sign the Magna Carta, wanted to create a separation between Church and State powers to

neg: Separation of church and state Alexis de Tocqueville, another French observer tended to make the same distinction, "In the U.S., from the beginning, politics and religion were in accord, and they have not ceased to be so since." Separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophic and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the nation state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular state (with or without legally explicit church–state separation) and to disestablishment, the changing of an existing, formal relationship between the church and the state. In a

neg: Separation of church and state 18th century, the ideas of Locke and Bayle, in particular the separation of Church and State, became more common, promoted by the philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment. Montesquieu already wrote in 1721 about religious tolerance and a degree of separation between religion and government. Voltaire defended some level of separation but ultimately subordinated the Church to the needs of the State while Denis Diderot, for instance, was a partisan of a strict separation of Church and State, saying ""the distance between the throne and the altar can never be too great"". In English, the exact term is an offshoot

neg: Separation of church and state in the United States of secular subjects in private religious schools violated the Establishment Clause. The court's decision argued that the separation of church and state could never be absolute: "Our prior holdings do not call for total separation between church and state; total separation is not possible in an absolute sense. Some relationship between government and religious organizations is inevitable," the court wrote. "Judicial caveats against entanglement must recognize that the line of separation, far from being a 'wall', is a blurred, indistinct, and variable barrier depending on all the circumstances of a particular relationship." Subsequent to this decision, the Supreme Court has

neg: Decree on separation of church from state and school from church Decree on separation of church from state and school from church The Decree on Separation of Church from State and School from Church () is a legal act adopted by the Council of People's Commissars of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic on January 20 (February 2), 1918 came into force on January 23 (February 5) of the same year, on the day of official publication. Installed the secular nature of the state power, proclaimed freedom of conscience and religion, religious organizations deprived of any property rights and the rights of a legal entity. It laid the foundation for the

neg: Decree on separation of church from state and school from church deployment of atheistic propaganda and atheistic education. The Decree was rescinded by the decree of the RSFSR Supreme Council of 25 October 1990. Decree on separation of church from state and school from church The Decree on Separation of Church from State and School from Church () is a legal act adopted by the Council of People's Commissars of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic on January 20 (February 2), 1918 came into force on January 23 (February 5) of the same year, on the day of official publication. Installed the secular nature of the state power, proclaimed freedom of

neg: Separation of church and state ultimate authority over the Church, and indirectly over the state. Moreover, throughout the Middle Ages the Pope claimed the right to depose the Catholic kings of Western Europe and tried to exercise it, sometimes successfully (see the investiture controversy, below), sometimes not, such as was the case with Henry VIII of England and Henry III of Navarre. In the West the issue of the separation of church and state during the medieval period centered on monarchs who ruled in the secular sphere but encroached on the Church's rule of the spiritual sphere. This unresolved contradiction in ultimate control of the

neg: Church of Lippe and Catholic Christians were granted equal rights. In 1877 the separation of church and state started by establishing church-wide bodies independent of the Lippe state government, such as the synod. In 1882 the delegates of the Lutheran parishes joined the synod, the Lutheran parishes form within the Church of Lippe their own classis since 1888. As spiritual leader the Lutheran classis is headed by a superintendent. The Reformed parishes are organised in six classes. After Leopold IV, Prince of Lippe had abdicated on 12 November 1918 his role as supreme governor (summepiscopacy; cf. Supreme Governor of the Church of England)

neg: Separation of church and state in the United States Robert H. Jackson) each explicitly stated that the Constitution has erected a "wall between church and state" or a "separation of Church from State": their disagreement was limited to whether this case of state funding of transportation to religious schools breached that wall. Rutledge, on behalf of the four dissenting justices, took the position that the majority had indeed permitted a violation of the wall of separation in this case: "Neither so high nor so impregnable today as yesterday is the wall raised between church and state by Virginia's great statute of religious freedom and the First Amendment, now made

neg: Religious persecution which refers to the degree of religious diversity that is tolerated within the state. In the absence of civil toleration, someone who finds himself in disagreement with his congregation doesn't have the option to leave and chose a different faith - simply because there is only one recognized faith in the country (at least officially). In modern western civil law any citizen may join and leave a religious organization at will; In western societies, this is taken for granted, but actually, this legal separation of Church and State only started to emerge a few centuries ago. In the Christian debate

neg: Baptists in the history of separation of church and state of Baptists believe the United States was formed as a Christian nation by the Founding Fathers. There is neither a unifying nor a codified doctrinal position among American Baptists. Interpretations of the meaning of "separation of church and state" vary among different Baptist affiliations. However, many Baptists in the United States still believe in the wall of separation and support maintaining it. For example, fifteen Baptist organizations, representing collectively over 10 million Baptists in America, collaborate with one another to protect religious liberty and the separation of church and state through their funding of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious

neg: Separation of church and state in the United States or national, because this is a religious people. ... [T]his is a Christian nation." Legal historian Paul Finkelman writes that: Some scholars and organizations disagree with the notion of "separation of church and state", or the way the Supreme Court has interpreted the constitutional limitation on religious establishment. Such critics generally argue that the phrase misrepresents the textual requirements of the Constitution, while noting that many aspects of church and state were intermingled at the time the Constitution was ratified. These critics argue that the prevalent degree of separation of church and state could not have been intended by the

neg: Americans United for Separation of Church and State extend government aid to private religious schools, particularly Catholic parochial schools, which was at the time, and continues to be, the largest system of private schools in the United States. They believed that government support for religious education would violate church-state separation and force taxpayers to subsidize sectarian education. The decision was made to form a national organization to promote and defend this point of view. Officially incorporated on January 29, 1948, the organization aimed to influence political leaders, and began publishing "Church & State" magazine in 1952 and other materials in support of church-state separation to educate the general

neg: Separation of church and state in Australia adopt permits religious adoption agencies to refuse them. The current situation, described as a "principle of state neutrality" rather than "separation of church and state", has been criticised by both secularists and religious groups. On the one hand, secularists have argued that government neutrality to religions leads to a "flawed democrac[y]" or even a "pluralistic theocracy" as the government cannot be neutral towards the religion of people who do not have one. On the other hand, religious groups and others have been concerned that state governments are restricting them from exercising their religion by preventing them from criticising other groups

neg: Freedom of religion in the Philippines was ratified in 1973 which included the separation of church and state clause, signaling a new development in the body of law on religious affairs. Joaquin Bernas, a Filipino Jesuit specializing in constitutional law, acknowledges that there were complex issues that were brought to court and numerous attempts to use the separation of Church and State against the Roman Catholic Church, but he defends the statement, saying that "the fact that he [Marcos] tried to do it does not deny the validity of the separation of church and state". The Roman Catholic Church was instrumental in winning support for Corazon

neg: Separation of church and state in the United States Education" has affected the subsequent interpretation of the separation of church and state in regard to the state governments. Although upholding the state law in that case, which provided for public busing to private religious schools, the Supreme Court held that the First Amendment establishment clause was fully applicable to the state governments. A more recent case involving the application of this principle against the states was "Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet" (1994). Jefferson's concept of "separation of church and state" first became a part of Establishment Clause jurisprudence in "Reynolds v. U.S.", 98

neg: Chaplain of the United States Senate question of the constitutionality of the position of the Senate Chaplain (as well as that of the House Chaplain, and at times, that of military chaplains as well), has been a subject of study and debate over the centuries. Opponents have argued that it violates the separation of church-and-state and proponents have argued, among other factors, that the same early legislators who wrote the United States Constitution and its Bill of Rights, from which the position of "non-establishment" and church and state separation is derived, were the same ones who approved and appointed the chaplains. President James Madison was an

neg: Separation of church and state in the United States to support a religion against one's will, and religious liberty encompasses all religions. In sum, citizens are free to embrace or reject a faith, any support for religion - financial or physical - must be voluntary, and all religions are equal in the eyes of the law with no special preference or favoritism. The First Congress' deliberations show that its understanding of the separation of church and state differed sharply from that of their contemporaries in Europe. As the 19th-century historian Philip Schaff observed: The American separation of church and state rests upon respect for the church; the [European anticlerical]

neg: Americans United for Separation of Church and State includes members from a broad religious, and non-religious, spectrum, including Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and atheists." Its national headquarters are in Washington, D.C.. Its former executive director, Barry W. Lynn, is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, as well as an attorney involved with civil liberties issues. Americans United for Separation of Church and State was founded on January 11, 1948, as Protestants and Other Americans United for Separation of Church and State (POAU) by a coalition of religious, educational and civic leaders. It was made in response to proposals pending in the U.S. Congress to

neg: Separation of church and state bishop who was pre-selected by the government for the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association in 2007. However, a new ordination of a Catholic bishop in November 2010, according to BBC News, has threatened to "damage ties" between China and the Vatican. The Constitution of the People's Republic of China guarantees, in its article 36, that: Freedom of religion in Croatia is a right defined by the Constitution, which also defines all religious communities as equal in front of the law and separated from the state. Principle of separation of church and state is enshrined in Article 41 which states: All religious

neg: Separation of church and state change. Most states permit broad exemptions to religious groups from anti-discrimination legislation; for example, the New South Wales act allowing same-sex couples to adopt permits religious adoption agencies to refuse them. The current situation, described as a "principle of state neutrality" rather than "separation of church and state", has been criticised by both secularists and religious groups. On the one hand, secularists have argued that government neutrality to religions leads to a "flawed democrac[y]" or even a "pluralistic theocracy" as the government cannot be neutral towards the religion of people who do not have one. On the other hand, religious

neg: Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church & State Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church & State Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, 454 U.S. 464 (1982), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the court refused to expand the "Flast v. Cohen" exception to the taxpayer standing rule. The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare had disposed of surplus property by conveying it, without charge, to a church-related college. Plaintiffs sought standing as taxpayers, and alternatively as citizens, claiming that the conveyance of property injured their right to a government

neg: Winkler v. Rumsfeld sued by people who claim that direct support of the BSA (such as funding or sponsoring Scouting units) violates the separation of church and state. A U.S. District Court Judge ruled in June 2005 that federal funding for the national Scout jamboree is unconstitutional because "the Boy Scouts are a religious organization, requiring Scouts to affirm a belief in God." The U.S. Department of Justice appealed the ruling on behalf of the Secretary of Defense, arguing that the military’s support for the jamboree does not violate the separation of church and state on the grounds that BSA is not a

neg: Baptists in the history of separation of church and state of religious doctrine and practice. This doctrine, known as the "wall of separation" or "strict separationism," would later become highly influential in 20th century Supreme Court understandings of the relationship between church and state. The phrase "separation of church and state" does not appear in the United States Constitution, despite its wide use and origin from a founding father. The relevance of this reply is a subject of heated debate, with scholars such as Robert Boston emphasizing its importance, and others such as Mark David Hall arguing that the letter was a historical outlier. In the U.S. today, a group

neg: Separation of church and state in the United States the United States". Prior to the adoption of the Bill of Rights, this was the only mention of religion in the Constitution. The first amendment to the US Constitution states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." The two parts, known as the "establishment clause" and the "free exercise clause" respectively, form the textual basis for the Supreme Court's interpretations of the "separation of church and state" doctrine. Three central concepts were derived from the 1st Amendment which became America's doctrine for church-state separation: no coercion in religious matters, no expectation

neg: Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church & State "simply because many people suffer the same injury" or because the injury is indirect. Justice Stevens, in his dissent, called "the difference between a disposition of funds pursuant to the Spending Clause and a disposition of realty pursuant to the Property Clause", "a tenuous distinction". American Constitutional Law: Powers and Liberties. Massey Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church & State Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, 454 U.S. 464 (1982), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the court refused to expand

neg: Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives of House Chaplains has "generally not been subject to party considerations". The question of the constitutionality of the position of the House Chaplain (as well as that of the Senate Chaplain, and at times, that of military chaplains as well), has been a subject of study and debate over the centuries. Opponents have argued that it violates the separation of church-and-state and proponents have argued, among other factors, that the fact that the same early legislators who wrote the United States Constitution and its Bill of Rights, from which the position of "non-establishment" and church and state separation is derived,

neg: Singulari Nos Singulari Nos Singulari Nos (subtitled "On The Errors Of Lammenais") was an encyclical issued on June 25, 1834 by Pope Gregory XVI. Essentially a follow-up to the better-known "Mirari Vos" of 1832, "Singulari Nos" focused strongly on the views of French priest Hughes Felicité Robert de Lamennais, who did not see any contradiction between Catholicism and then-modern ideals of liberalism and the separation of Church and State. In October 1830 Lamennais, Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire, and Charles Forbes René de Montalembert founded the newspaper, "L'Avenir", which advocated an enlarged suffrage, separation of church and state, universal freedom of conscience, instruction, assembly,

neg: Separation of church and state in the United States New Religions, Wood said that the freedom of conscience and assembly allowed under such a system has led to a "remarkable religiosity" in the United States that isn't present in other industrialized nations. Wood believes that the U.S. operates on "a sort of civic religion," which includes a generally shared belief in a creator who "expects better of us." Beyond that, individuals are free to decide how they want to believe and fill in their own creeds and express their conscience. He calls this approach the "genius of religious sentiment in the United States." Separation of church and state in

neg: Separation of church and state the beginning of the modern conception of separation of church and state. Those of the Radical Reformation (the Anabaptists) took Luther's ideas in new direction, most notably in the writings of Michael Sattler (1490–1527), who agreed with Luther that there were two kingdoms, but differed in arguing that these two kingdoms should be separate, and hence baptized believers should not vote, serve in public office or participate in any other way with the "kingdom of the world." While there was a diversity of views in the early days of the Radical Reformation, in time Sattler's perspective became the normative position

neg: Separation of church and state in the United States life," which sought to confine religion to a private sphere. Further, the ban against government aid to religious schools was supported before 1970 by most Protestants (and most Jews), who opposed aid to religious schools, which were mostly Catholic at the time. After 1980, however, anti-Catholic sentiment has diminished among mainline Protestants, and the crucial coalition of public secularists and Protestant churches has collapsed. While mainline Protestant denominations are more inclined towards strict separation of church and state, much evangelical opinion has now largely deserted that position. As a consequence, strict separationism is opposed today by members of many Protestant

neg: Catholic Church in France while one of the consequences of the law was for Muslim college students who refused to remove their veils or "conspicuous religious symbols" to withdraw from the public school system in favour of the private, but publicly subsidized, Catholic schools (where the law does not apply, being restricted to the public education system). In any case, since the 1905 law on the separation of the Church and State, the prevailing public doctrine on religion is "laïcité" – that is, neutrality of the state with respect to religious doctrine, and separation of the religious and the public spheres, except in Alsace-Lorraine

neg: American Jewish Congress v. Bost American Jewish Congress v. Bost American Jewish Congress v. Bost is an establishment clause lawsuit concerning the separation of church and state in Brenham, Texas. The case is the first constitutional challenge to a charitable choice contract. In the community of Brenham, Texas, the American Jewish Congress and the Texas Civil Rights Project filed a lawsuit against a social services program who they believe used a tax funded jobs program to support religious practices which violated the separation of church and state. Other accusations include; use of funds to proselytize, purchase bibles, and coerce participants to "accept Jesus." On May

neg: Separation of church and state Utah territory who claimed polygamy was an aspect of their religious freedom. The Court used the phrase again by Justice Hugo Black in 1947 in "Everson". In a minority opinion in "Wallace v. Jaffree", Justice Rehnquist presented the view that the establishment clause was intended to protect local establishments of religion from federal interference. Rehnquist made numerous citations of cases that rebutted the idea of a total wall of separation between Church and State. A result of such reasoning was Supreme Court support for government payments to faith-based community projects. Justice Scalia has criticized the metaphor as a bulldozer removing

neg: World Trade Center cross of the tragic attacks on 9/11." In the court decision in March 2013, Judge Deborah Batts opined that "the First Amendment separates church from state, but not religion from public life" and that "American Atheists advocates an "absolute separation of church and state," which would appear to call for a society in which public spaces are entirely religion-free zones. But "separation" taken this far is no friend of religious liberty." In late July 2014, in dismissing a lawsuit filed by the dissenting atheists who did not want the cross displayed at the memorial, the 2nd U.S. Circuit ruled that, being

neg: Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty BJC is a non-profit 501(c)(3) education and advocacy organization that has worked for more than 75 years promoting religious liberty for all and upholding the principle of church-state separation. It is supported by the following Baptist organizations: In addition to receiving support from Baptist organizations, the BJC also receives support from individuals who identify with the cause of religious liberty and church-state separation. Baptist involvement in public affairs began formally on Saturday, May 16, 1936, when the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) created the Committee on Public Relations. The committee had the following charge: ... as situations arise, in which agencies

neg: Future and Freedom care directives and immigration. Fini was also an outspoken supporter of the principle of separation of church and state and became also a vocal critic of Silvio Berlusconi and of his leadership style of the country and the party. Fini's positions distanced him from most former leading members of AN (including Ignazio La Russa, Maurizio Gasparri, Gianni Alemanno, Altero Matteoli and Giorgia Meloni) who became close allies of Berlusconi instead. In the meantime, a group of Fini loyalists, known as "Finiani", started to join forces in support of their leader. In April 2010 Italo Bocchino launched an association within the

neg: Separation of church and state remains a national church to which the state has special obligations; it is conventional that the monarch, who is head of state, must attend the Church when she visits Scotland, and they swear in their accession oath to maintain and preserve the church. The state also gives numerous preferences to the Church of Scotland and Catholic Church, particularly in education. The blasphemy law has not been abolished in Scotland, though it has fallen into disuse. Non-religious couples can have a civil wedding with no religious elements, and humanist weddings have been legally recognised since 2005, and enshrined in Scottish law

neg: Rob Boston Rob Boston Robert Boston (born December 7, 1962) is Director of Communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State and Editor of "Church & State" magazine. He has worked at Americans United since 1987, and formerly served as Assistant Director of Communications and Assistant Editor of "Church & State". Boston is an advocate of separation of church and state and has authored four books on the subject. He frequently appears on television and radio. Prominent media appearances include CNN, "NBC Nightly News", Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" and MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann". In addition to his

neg: Rob Boston in 1985. He currently lives with his wife and two children in Maryland. Rob Boston Robert Boston (born December 7, 1962) is Director of Communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State and Editor of "Church & State" magazine. He has worked at Americans United since 1987, and formerly served as Assistant Director of Communications and Assistant Editor of "Church & State". Boston is an advocate of separation of church and state and has authored four books on the subject. He frequently appears on television and radio. Prominent media appearances include CNN, "NBC Nightly News", Fox News Channel's

neg: History of the Puritans in North America Haven, but voting rights were more extensive in Connecticut and Plymouth. In Connecticut, church attendance on Sundays was mandatory (for both church members and non-members), and those who failed to attend were fined. There was a greater separation of church and state in the Puritan commonwealths than existed anywhere in Europe at the time. In England, the king was head of both church and state, bishops sat in Parliament and the Privy Council, and church officials exercised many secular functions. In New England, secular matters were handled only by civil authorities, and those who held offices in the church were

neg: Latvia's First Party reference point for legislation can be viewed as unconstitutional, since Latvia is a secular state, where religion is separate from the state ( of the Constitution of Latvia). Supporters of the First Party deny that the "separation of church argument" can properly be used to keep people of faith silent when it comes to issues of morality or the passing or failing of laws that have strong moral dimensions. The ideas under the separation of church and state doctrine have to do with (a) the state not being allowed to control the church, or (b) the church not being allowed

neg: Separation of church and state hostile model exhibited during these events can be seen as approaching the type of political religion seen in totalitarian states. The French separation of 1905 and the Spanish separation of 1931 have been characterized as the two most hostile of the twentieth century, although the current church-state relations in both countries are considered generally friendly. Nevertheless, France's former President Nicolas Sarkozy at the beginning of his term, considered his country's current state of affairs a "negative laïcité" and wanted to develop a "positive laïcité" more open to religion. The concerns of the state toward religion have been seen by some

neg: Separation of church and state adopted by Virginia in 1786; and the French Declaration of the Rights of the Man and of the Citizen of 1789. Countries have varying degrees of separation between government and religious institutions. Since the 1780s a number of countries have set up explicit barriers between church and state. The degree of actual separation between government and religion or religious institutions varies widely. In some countries the two institutions remain heavily interconnected. There are new conflicts in the post-Communist world. The many variations on separation can be seen in some countries with high degrees of religious freedom and tolerance combined with

neg: Sever Voinescu "profoundly flawed" for what he interprets as a chronic failure to uphold the separation of powers. His endorsement of a project to award the Romanian Orthodox Church a say in the allocation of welfare programs generated criticism among secularist analysts, who commented that it bastardized the concept of social justice and effectively reduced the separation of church and state, or that it offered the Church an inflated role in politics and civil society. A parallel dispute ensued, between Voinescu and Preda: Voinescu is a noted critic of party-list proportional representation and endorses first-past-the-post voting; in contrast, Preda dismisses his colleague's

neg: Georges Clemenceau revisit the Dreyfus affair, and to create a separation of Church and State in France. The latter was implemented by the 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State. In March 1906 the ministry of Maurice Rouvier fell as a result of civil disturbances provoked by the implementation of the law on the separation of church and state and the victory of radicals in the French legislative elections of 1906. The new government of Ferdinand Sarrien appointed Clemenceau as Minister of the Interior in the cabinet. On a domestic level, Clemenceau reformed the French police forces

neg: Separation of church and state (for foreign residents only) was achieved under the rule of Gustav III (1771–92), but it was not until the passage of the Dissenter Acts of 1860 and 1874 that Swedish citizens were allowed to leave the state church – and then only provided that those wishing to do so first registered their adhesion to another, officially approved denomination. Following years of discussions that began in 1995, the Church of Sweden was finally separated from the state as from 1 January 2000. However, the separation was not fully completed. Although the status of state religion came to an end, the Church

neg: Michael Newdow of the Universal Life Church. In 1997, he started an organization called FACTS (First Atheist Church of True Science), which advocates strong separation of church and state in public institutions. He also serves on the Advisory Board of Secular Coalition for America. Newdow grew up in the Bronx and in Teaneck, New Jersey, where his nominally Jewish family moved in 1960. He graduated from Teaneck High School. After graduating from high school, Newdow attended Brown University, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology in 1974. He told "Brown Alumni Magazine" that he can't remember ever believing in

neg: Desert Christ Park 1988 and 1996, while the ACLU sued San Bernardino County for separation of church and state issues, after which a nonprofit foundation took over and renovated the park. Desert Christ Park Desert Christ Park is a sculpture garden in Yucca Valley, California. The park was sculpted and created by Antone Martin, a former aircraft worker who died in 1961 at the age of 74. Martin started sculpting the figures out of steel-reinforced concrete during the height of the Cold War atomic bomb scare of the mid-1940s, hoping that the sculptures would inspire global peace. Sculptures include The Twelve Apostles, Martha,

neg: Secularity seminary school or monastery are examples of religious (non-secular) activities. The "secular" is experienced in diverse ways ranging from separation of religion and state to being anti-religion or even pro-religion, depending on the culture. For example, the United States has both separation of church and state and pro-religiosity in various forms such as protection of religious freedoms; France has separation of church and state (and Revolutionary France was strongly anti-religious); the Soviet Union was anti-religion; in India, people feel comfortable identifying as secular while participating in religion; and in Japan, since the concept of "religion" is not indigenous to Japan,

neg: Separation of church and state the principle of separation of church and state is enshrined in Article 7 of the Constitution, which states: "The State and the Catholic Church are independent and sovereign, each within its own sphere. Their relations are regulated by the Lateran pacts. Amendments to such Pacts which are accepted by both parties shall not require the procedure of constitutional amendments." Shinto became the state religion in Japan with the Meiji Restoration in 1868, and suppression of other religions ensued. Under the American military occupation (1945–52) "State Shinto" was considered to have been used as a propaganda tool to propel the Japanese

neg: Separation of church and state state. The arm's length principle proposes a relationship wherein the two political entities interact as organizations independent of the authority of the other. The strict application of secular principle of "laïcité" (secularity) is used in France, while secular societies, such as Denmark and the United Kingdom, maintain a form of constitutional recognition of an official state religion. The philosophy of the separation of the church from the civil state parallels the philosophies of secularism, disestablishmentarianism, religious liberty, and religious pluralism, by way of which the European states assumed some of the social roles of the church, the welfare state, a

neg: Voluntaryism puritans, who wanted to preserve a state-church with coercive powers and to deny liberty of worship to the puritan sects." The Levellers were nonconformist in religion and advocated for the separation of church and state. The church to their way of thinking was a voluntary associating of equals, and furnished a theoretical and practical model for the civil state. If it was proper for their church congregations to be based on consent, then it was proper to apply the same principle of consent to its secular counterpart. For example, the Leveller 'large' Petition of 1647 contained a proposal "that tythes

neg: Separation of church and state possesses a prohibited publication can be fined up to $2,000 Singapore dollars and jailed up to 12 months for a first conviction. In Spain, commentators have posited that the form of church-state separation enacted in France in 1905 and found in the Spanish Constitution of 1931 are of a "hostile" variety, noting that the hostility of the state toward the church was a cause of the breakdown of democracy and the onset of the Spanish Civil War. Following the end of the war, the Catholic Church regained an officially sanctioned, predominant position with General Franco. Religious freedom was guaranteed only

neg: Sonrise Church near Jackson School and Northeast Ninth Avenue. The new building was to be used as the church’s sanctuary. Sonrise Baptist built a new building at the original church location on NE Rogahn Street in 2000. In 1998, Americans United for Separation of Church and State alleged that Sonrise was one of nine churches in the country that violated federal tax law by distributing voter guides seen as pro-Republican. In 2006, Sonrise started Washington County Project Homeless Connect, a one-day, annual event that provides a variety of services to the homeless, including pet care, medical care, counseling, and legal services. Other

neg: History of the Catholic Church in France in the army, as officers realized that hostile spies examining their private lives were more important to their careers than their own professional accomplishments. On 10 February 1905, the Chamber declared that "the attitude of the Vatican" had rendered the separation of Church and State inevitable and the law of the separation of church and state was passed in December 1905. The Church was badly hurt and lost half its priests. In the long run, however, it gained autonomy—for the State no longer had a voice in choosing bishops and Gallicanism was dead. Historian Kenneth Scott Latourette has examined the

neg: Kuki Christian Church to attain those aspirations. Affirming state-church separation, KCC resolved not to participate in state- or political-group-sponsored programs that undermine state-church separation. The Gospel Mission Society was established in 1980. At present, the Congregation has 41 missionaries and 20 native evangelists serving in different fields. The Kuki Christian Khangthah (KCK), the youth wing of the congregation (formerly Khangthah Christian Kiloikhom) was established in 1982. It celebrated its Silver Jubilee in 2007 at Phaipijang Christian Church, Dimapur, Nagaland Synod. The objective of KCK is to help youth members share their faith with others and develop second-line leadership for evangelism, organizing seminars and

neg: Russian Orthodox Church of Moscow was selected as the first Russian Patriarch after about 300 years of the Synodal rule. In early February 1918, the Bolshevik-controlled government of Soviet Russia enacted the Decree on separation of church from state and school from church that proclaimed separation of church and state in Russia, freedom to ″profess any religion or profess none″, deprived religious organisations of the right to own any property and legal status. Legal religious activity in the territories controlled by Bolsheviks was effectively reduced to services and sermons inside church buildings. The Decree and attempts by Bolshevik officials to requisition church property

neg: Chartism funeral of Samuel Holberry, the Sheffield Chartist leader, who died in prison in 1843, while another honours John Frost, Zephaniah Williams, and William Jones, the Chartist leaders transported to Tasmania in the aftermath of the Newport rising of 1839. The Chartists were especially critical of the Church of England for unequal distribution of the state funds it received resulting in some bishops and higher dignitaries having grossly larger incomes than other clergy. This state of affairs led some Chartists to question the very idea of a state-sponsored church, leading them to call for an absolute separation of church and state.

neg: Separation of church and state were allowed to flourish, as the 1824 Constitution secured religious freedom. The fall of the Empire, in 1889, gave way to a Republican regime, and a Constitution was enacted in 1891, which severed the ties between church and state; Republican ideologues such as Benjamin Constant and Ruy Barbosa were influenced by laïcité in France and the United States. The 1891 Constitutional separation of Church and State has been maintained ever since. The current Constitution of Brazil, in force since 1988, ensures the right to religious freedom, bans the establishment of state churches and any relationship of "dependence or alliance" of

neg: Anti-Catholicism in the United States For example, "Christianity Today" editorialized that, "Black's advocacy of church-state separation, in turn, found its roots in the fierce anti-Catholicism of the Masons and the Ku Klux Klan (Black was a Kladd of the Klavern, or an initiator of new members, in his home state of Alabama in the early 1920s)." A leading Constitutional scholar, Professor Philip Hamburger of Columbia University Law School, has strongly called into question Black's integrity on the church-state issue because of his close ties to the KKK. Hamburger argues that his views on the need for separation of Church and State were deeply tainted by

neg: African Israel Church Nineveh was ministering within his mother church. Eventually he decided to form his own church and the separation from the Pentecostals was achieved without bitterness on either side. It started with about 150 members. Kivuli and his followers established a good reputation of being people who were 'loyal and harmless, pay taxes promptly, and are amenable to discipline’. The new church was thus founded on 1 January 1942 out of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada at Nyang'ori. It was initially called Huru Salvation Nineveh (Free Salvation Nineveh), but later became the African Israel Church Nineveh. Kivuli, High Priest Zakayo & Isaac

neg: Freedom of religion by country program for the Garda Síochána liaison officers who then regularly engage with immigrant communities and minority religious groups. In Italy there is not a state religion, however the Catholic Church enjoys a special status due to its historical political authority and its sovereign status, both of which other religions do not have. The Constitution recognises the Lateran treaty of 1929, later modified in 1984, which gave this special status to the Catholic Church, but also recognizes the separation of church and state, as stated in Article 7: The State and the Catholic Church are independent and sovereign, each within its

neg: Christine O'Donnell O'Donnell and her opponent Chris Coons on October 13, 2010, O'Donnell was asked what Supreme Court cases does she disagree with. O'Donnell drew a blank and asked co-moderator Nancy Karibjanian to name one for her, which Karibjanian refused to do. In an October 19, 2010, debate at the Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, O'Donnell challenged Coons on the topic of the separation of church and state, asking, "Where in the Constitution is separation of church and state?" After laughter from the audience, Coons responded, "The First Amendment establishes the separation and the fact that the federal government shall

neg: Laïcité started to develop since the French Third Republic, after the Republicans gained control of the state. The word "laïcité" has been used, from the end of the 19th century on, to mean the freedom of public institutions, especially primary schools, from the influence of the Catholic Church in countries where it had retained its influence, in the context of a secularization process. Today, the concept covers other religious movements as well. Proponents assert the French state secularism is based on respect for freedom of thought and freedom of religion. Thus the absence of a state religion, and the subsequent separation

neg: Separation of church and state of Sweden nevertheless remains Swedens national church, and as such is still regulated by the government through the law of the Church of Sweden. Therefore, it would be more appropriate to refer to a change of relation between state and church rather than a separation. Furthermore, the Swedish constitution still maintain that the Sovereign and the members of the royal family has to confess an evangelical Lutheran faith, which in practice means they need to be members of the Church of Sweden to remain in the line of succession. Thusly according to the ideas of cuius regio, eius religio one

neg: David Lynch Foundation 2008. In 2009, "Church and State" magazine reported that the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State had characterized the David Lynch Foundation's funding of Transcendental Meditation for public school students as undermining the constitutional separation of church and state. In 2011, music mogul Russell Simmons announced plans to provide financial support to the David Lynch Foundation to teach TM at Hillhouse High School in New Haven, Connecticut. In 2009 the DLF provided $120,000 to fund a Transcendental Meditation Club at the Tucson Magnet High School in Arizona, U.S. which had offered TM courses to 160 students, staff,

neg: Separation of church and state support the activities of the Church of Norway and municipal authorities are represented in its local bodies. In Article II "Declaration of Principles and State Policies", Section 6, the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines declares, "The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable." This reasserts, with minor differences in wording and capitalization, a declaration made in Article XV, Section 15 of the 1973 Constitution. Similarly, Article III, Section 5 declares, "No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or

neg: Religion in France spies examining their private lives were more important to their careers than their own professional accomplishments. Radicals (as they called themselves) achieved their main goals in 1905: they repealed Napoleon's 1801 Concordat. Church and State were finally separated. All Church property was confiscated. Religious personnel were no longer paid by the State. Public worship was given over to associations of Catholic laymen who controlled access to churches. However, in practice, masses and rituals continued to be performed. A 1905 law instituted the separation of Church and State and prohibited the government from recognising, salarying, or subsidising any religion. The 1926

neg: French Third Republic religious congregations' freedom of teaching. On 10 February 1905, the Chamber declared that "the attitude of the Vatican" had rendered the separation of Church and State inevitable and the law of the separation of church and state was passed in December 1905. The Church was badly hurt and lost half its priests. In the long run, however, it gained autonomy; ever after, the State no longer had a voice in choosing bishops, thus Gallicanism was dead. Foreign-policy 1871-1914 was based on a slow rebuilding of alliances With Russia and Britain in order to counteract the threat from Germany. Bismarck had

neg: Separation of church and state in the United States that Jefferson echoes the language of the founder of the first Baptist church in America, Roger Williams who, in 1644, wrote of However, when considered in context, the relationship appears questionable. Article Six of the United States Constitution also specifies that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." Jefferson's metaphor of a wall of separation has been cited repeatedly by the U.S. Supreme Court. In "Reynolds v. United States" (1879) the Court wrote that Jefferson's comments "may be accepted almost as an authoritative declaration of the scope

neg: First Amendment to the United States Constitution secular purpose and the absence of primary effect; a concurring opinion saw both cases as having treated entanglement as part of the primary purpose test. Further tests, such as the endorsement test and coercion test, have been developed to determine whether a government action violated the Establishment Clause. In "Lemon" the Court stated that the separation of church and state could never be absolute: "Our prior holdings do not call for total separation between church and state; total separation is not possible in an absolute sense. Some relationship between government and religious organizations is inevitable", the court wrote. "Judicial caveats

neg: History of Protestantism in the United States Over 150 people were arrested and imprisoned. Church leaders finally realized their mistake, ended the trials, and never repeated them. Roger Williams, who preached religious tolerance, separation of church and state, and a complete break with the Church of England, was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony and founded Rhode Island Colony, which became a haven for other religious refugees from the Puritan community. Some migrants who came to Colonial America were in search of the freedom to practice forms of Christianity which were prohibited and persecuted in Europe. Since there was no state religion, in fact there was not

neg: American Civil Liberties Union The ACLU's success arose from changing public attitudes; the American populace was more educated, more tolerant, and more willing to accept unorthodox behavior. Legal battles concerning the separation of church and state originated in laws dating to 1938 which required religious instruction in school, or provided state funding for religious schools. The Catholic church was a leading proponent of such laws; and the primary opponents (the "separationists") were the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the American Jewish Congress. The ACLU led the challenge in the 1947 "Everson v. Board of Education" case, in which Justice

neg: Catholic Church in France are associated with France, the best known are the following; The 1905 French law on the separation of Church and State removed the privileged status of the state religion (Catholic Church) and of the three other state-recognised religions (Lutheranism, Calvinism, Judaism), but left to them the use without fee of the churches that they used prior to 1905. A notable exception is Alsace-Lorraine, which was at the time of the separation part of Germany, and where the pre-1905 status, including the Concordat, is still in force. This was negotiated in 1918 when Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France at the end

neg: Separation of church and state presidency was raised. If elected, it would be the first time that a Catholic would occupy the highest office in the United States. John F. Kennedy, in his on 12 September 1960, addressed the question directly, saying, The United States Supreme Court has referenced the separation of church and state metaphor more than 25 times, though not always fully embracing the principle, saying "the metaphor itself is not a wholly accurate description of the practical aspects of the relationship that in fact exists between church and state". In "Reynolds", the Court denied the free exercise claims of Mormons in the

neg: Catholicism in the Second Spanish Republic which committed the Spanish government to phasing out state funding of clergy stipends, and strictly controlled Church property and prohibited religious institutes from engaging in education were passed. Not only advocates of a confessional state but also certain advocates of church/state separation saw the constitution as hostile; one such advocate of separation, José Ortega y Gasset, stated "the article in which the Constitution legislates the actions of the Church seems highly improper to me." "Article 26 - " one of the most divisive articles in the constitution..debarred religious from teaching though not from welfare work." (This attempt to close the

neg: Separation of church and state letter, referencing the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Jefferson writes: Another early user of the term was James Madison, the principal drafter of the United States Bill of Rights. In a 1789 debate in the House of Representatives regarding the draft of the First Amendment, the following was said: Madison contended "Because if Religion be exempt from the authority of the Society at large, still less can it be subject to that of the Legislative Body." Several years later he wrote of "total separation of the church from the state." "Strongly guarded as is the separation between Religion

neg: Separation of church and state in the United States views on the separation of church and state;" however, others point to Jefferson's support for a scheme in which students at the university would attend religious worship each morning as evidence that his views were not consistent with strict separation. Still other scholars, such as Mark David Hall, attempt to sidestep the whole issue by arguing that American jurisprudence focuses too narrowly on this one Jeffersonian letter while failing to account for other relevant history Jefferson's letter entered American jurisprudence in the 1878 Mormon polygamy case "Reynolds v. U.S.", in which the court cited Jefferson and Madison, seeking a legal