Reply #24: Well, I'm sure you are going to get good answers here ..

[Maat]

but the first thing I talk about is the founding fathers' quotes which clearly show what the founding fathers' intent when authoring and approving of the First Amendment. In the Treaty of Tripoli, authored by Joel Barlow, and signed by none other than John Adams, it is clearly stated, "As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion .."

http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/treaty_tripoli.html


This clearly shows that the U.S. government was intended to be secular. In the First Amendment, it doesn't preclude establishment of "a" religion; it precludes establishment of "religion" period. Thomas Jefferson clarified what was meant by the First Amendment when he referred to the "wall of separation between church and state" in his Letter to the Danbury Baptists. The history of a document has been a vital part of the courts' interpretation of the Constitution, its amendments, and legislation.

http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpre.html


Then I talk about how case law is as much "the law" as statutory law, and how many, many court opinions have held that there MUST BE a separation of church and state. This means no GOVERNMENT SPONSORSHIP of religion (not referring to private behavior on the part of a private citizen). The U.S. Supreme Court just affirmed the separation of church and state in:

VAN ORDEN v. PERRY, 03-1500 (U.S. 2005)
No. 03-1500.
Argued March 2, 2005. Decided June 27, 2005.


In 1925, the Court stated, "The American people as a whole have unalterably determined
that there shall be an absolute and unequivocal separation of
church and state, and that the public schools shall be maintained
and conducted free from influences in favor of any religious
organization, sect, creed or belief" in PIERCE v. SOCIETY OF SISTERS, 268 U.S. 510 (1925).