by Don Sylvester

Created on: October 20, 2010   Last Updated: October 26, 2010

Christine O’Donnell, candidate for U.S. Senator from Delaware, asked her opponent during their latest debate “Where in the Constitution is the separation of church and state?” The debate was held at a law school. The audience laughed. Her opponent, Chris Coons, proceeded to lecture her about the First Amendment to the Constitution. Commentators on CNN, MSNBC and liberal radio wasted no time in condemning Ms. O’Donnell as a Constitutional illiterate.

Unfortunately for Ms. O’Donnell’s critics, the phrase “separation of church and state” is nowhere to be found in the First Amendment, any other Amendments, the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence. Here is the exact wording of the First Amendment: 

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

The term “separation of church and state” in United States history can be traced to Thomas Jefferson. He used it in an 1802 letter to the Baptist Association of Danbury, Connecticut. In this context, however, it was intended to reassure the Baptists that their religious liberties were fully protected by the Constitution. James Madison also used the phrase "total separation of the church from the state” in an 1819 letter. Again, in context, Madison’s concern was the protection of religious freedom in America.

In our world, “separation of church and state” has taken on a different meaning, and has been used as a tool to eradicate all references to God and religion in the public domain. This sentiment can be traced back to a 1947 Supreme Court case, Everson v. Board of Education, which dealt with a state law that allowed the use of government funds for transportation to religious schools. The Court upheld the state law, but wrote a vigorous opinion in support of the Establishment Clause. In its opinion, the Court used the term “wall of separation between church and state”, and attributed the principle to Jefferson.

The Everson opinion was the launching pad for numerous legal challenges during the latter decades of the twentieth century, everything from prayer in schools to Christmas trees in front of city hall.

The issue has been widely debated throughout our nation’s history

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