THE HISTORY OF “SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE”
WHAT DID AMERICA’S FOUNDERS ENVISION?
Key Facts
The phrase “separation of church and state” originated from a letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptist Association of Connecticut in 1802. [1]
The phrase “separation of church and state” reappeared in the Supreme Court case Everson v. Board of Education (1947). In that case, The majority opinion wrote, “In the words of Jefferson, the clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect ‘a wall of separation between church and State.’” [2]
The First Amendment to the Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” [3]
Key Scriptures
Matthew 22:21 “Then he said to them, ‘Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.’”
John 18:36 “Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.’”
Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
Romans 13:1 “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”
Want to Know More?
Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission - What does “separation of Church and State” actually mean?
TIME Magazine - The Real Meaning of the Separation of Church and State
Library of Congress - Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists
The First Amendment Encyclopedia - Establishment Clause (Separation of Church and State)
Wikipedia - Separation of church and state in the United States
The Constitution Center - The Establishment Clause
Application
The phrase “separation of Church and State” has been a frequent source of contention in the United States over the nature of religion in government and the public square. However, what does this phrase actually mean? Where did it come from? What is the proper relationship between the Church and the State, especially in the United States?
History of “Separation of Church and State”
This might come as a surprise to many modern Americans, but the United States did not always have a separation between Church and State. In the early colonies, it was common to have an established church. Congregationalism was the dominant state church in the northern colonies while the Church of England was dominant in the southern colonies. Under certain laws, people were forced to pay taxes to support clergy, attend church, or needed a license to preach. Harsh penalties were frequently met with those who disobeyed. This adversely affected religious minorities like Jews, Catholics, Muslims, Quakers, Baptists, etc. They objected to having their tax money used to support clergy with whom they disagreed and, as a result, bore the brunt of these punishments, suffering intense persecution.
After the Revolution, based on Thomas Jefferson’s work in Virginia in creating the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, similar protections were adopted in the First Amendment to the Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” This was meant to guard religion from excessive government interference. At that time, though, this still did not prohibit state governments from establishing official churches. It only prevented federal interference.
Because of these complexities, in 1801, the Danbury Baptist Association wrote a letter to then-President Thomas Jefferson expressing concern that their rights to religious freedom were still unsafe from the intrusion of the states. Jefferson, wanting to reassure them, wrote in response,
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, 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. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
This is where the phrase “wall of separation between Church and State” comes from. It is not directly found in the Constitution itself but was Jefferson’s informal way of expressing the effect and intention of the First Amendment.
As religious diversity continued to increase in the United States, states began disestablishing official churches from their governments (Massachusetts was the last one to do so in 1833). Eventually, the 14th Amendment (1868) applied the restrictions in the First Amendment to state governments, making established state churches impossible.
Separation of Church and State in the Modern Context
Since then, several court cases have sought to further elaborate the precise meaning and application of the First Amendment. The most prominent cases among these are Everson v. Board of Education (1947) and Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971).
In Everson v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court, using Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists as a prooftext, created the precedent of separation of church and state. More specifically, they said that the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion”) is a liberty protected by the due process clause in the 14th Amendment. Justice Black in the majority opinion wrote, “The First Amendment has erected a wall between church and state. That wall must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the slightest breach.” Thus, the principle of “separation of church and state” became a part of our legal and judicial systems, and many subsequent court cases have tried to define where that wall should stand.
One of the most important cases in defining separation of church and state is Lemon v. Kurtzman. In this case, the Supreme Court established what became known as the Lemon Test to see if a law or government program violated the First Amendment. It had three parts. First, a law must have “a legitimate secular purpose.” Second, it cannot “have the primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion.” Third, it cannot “result in an excessive entanglement of government and religion.”
Generally speaking, other court cases which debated the nature of the Establishment Clause and separation of church and state have fallen into four areas of concern:
Government aid being given to religious schools or social welfare programs administered by religious institutions (such as government scholarships or grants going to students of Christian colleges)
Government-sponsored prayer (such as in schools or local town hall meetings)
Accommodating religious dissent from generally applicable laws (like conscientious objectors to the draft or getting vaccinated)
Religious symbols on government-owned property (like the Ten Commandments being at a courthouse)
Where the line between church and state should be drawn in all of these debates is a matter of ongoing discussion and importance.
Conclusion
The phrase “separation of church and state” is not found directly in the Constitution. However, the Founders did envision that the Church and State should be separate institutions and not unnecessarily interfere in one another’s affairs. Contrary to what many believe, it does not prevent Christians from expressing their faith publicly or looking to their faith as a guide for how they should vote, make laws, or engage in the public sphere. Our Founders and the authors of the First Amendment, many of whom were religious, would never have supported such a notion. Christians may disagree about the degree to which matters of Church and State can overlap. This is an area where wisdom is needed as we strive to live “a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” (1 Timothy 2:2)