Are you surprised?

The First Amendment of the Constitution was never intended to cause a separation of Church and State. What does the First Amendment actually say? “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of a religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The words separation, church and/or state are not mentioned in the First Amendment. In fact, the phrase ‘separation of church and state’ appears in no founding document! What was the intent of the First Amendment? This was clearly shown in the U.S. Congressional Records from June 7 to September 25, 1789. In essence, the Records concluded that the First Amendment was intended to prevent one denomination from running the nation as had been true in Britain.

In 1801, the Danbury Baptists heard a rumor that the Congregationalists were about to be made the established religion. They wrote a letter to President Thomas Jefferson inquiring about this matter. In his reply, dated January 1, 1802, Jefferson wrote: “The First Amendment has erected a wall of separation between church and state.” He went on to explain that there should be no fear about the establishment of a national denomination. He also explained that the wall of the First Amendment would protect the church from government control, and that there always would be open and free religious expression of all orthodox religious practices, for true religious duty never threatens the purpose of government.

In a 1947 Supreme Court case, Everson vs. Board of Education, the court quoted from Jefferson’s letter, taking the following words out of context and without his intent: “The First Amendment has erected a wall of separation between church and state. That wall must be kept high and impregnable.” Dr. William James, the Founder of Modern Psychology said: “There is nothing so absurd but that if you repeat it often enough people will believe it.” The Supreme Court after 1947 began to speak of a “separation of church and state,” saying, “This is what the Founders wanted – separation of church and state. This is their great intent.” In a Supreme Court case in 1958, Baer vs. Kolmorgan, the dissenting judge warned that continuing to talk about the separation of church and state would make people think it was part of the constitution.

In 1962, the Supreme Court, in Engel vs. Vitale, for the first time separated Christian principles from education. It struck down school prayer. In the 1962 case, the court redefined the meaning and application of a single word: “church.” For 170 years the court had defined the word “church” to mean a federally established denomination. In the 1962 case, however, the word “church” was redefined to mean any religious activity performed in public. This redefinition of the word “church” was brand new, and was clearly the turning point for all future court decisions. For the first time ever the Supreme Court rendered its decision without referring to any legal or historical precedents! What was the Unconstitutional Prayer that the Supreme Court said could not be said in a public school? It was a simple 22-word prayer: “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon thee, and we beg thy blessing upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our Country.” The “Unconstitutional Prayer” acknowledged God only one time. The Pledge of Allegiance acknowledges God one time! The Declaration of Independence acknowledges God four times! In rendering its rulings on the Constitution, the Supreme Court is saying that this is what the Founding Fathers would have said. Do you agree with them?