Even though the phrase cannot be found in the Constitution, “Separation of Church and State” has become a popular slogan.
Unfortunately, it is often misunderstood—especially by advocacy groups on the Left—to mean that you must leave your religious beliefs behind when you have any involvement with the government. But that is not at all what the Founders intended!
As a Judeo-Christian voter, this affects more issues than you might realize.
For example, when the Supreme Court ruled that a public high school football coach must be allowed to say his personal prayer on the 50-yard line after games, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) stated, “The decision significantly erodes the separation of church and state in public schools.”
Or take the issue of abortion. The advocacy group Americans United for Separation of Church and State asserts, “abortion bans violate religious freedom and church-state separation. Abortion is a church-state issue.”
Religious liberty and protecting innocent human life are just two hotly debated issues crucial to many voters when choosing candidates. You also likely take them into consideration when holding elected officials accountable—from the president to your school board and district judges.
For this reason, it is important to understand what Thomas Jefferson—who wrote the famous phrase—meant by “a wall of separation between Church and State.”
What was Jefferson’s intent?
In 1801, the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut wrote a letter to President Jefferson, expressing their concern that they might not be free to follow their Baptist beliefs without interference by officials in their state.
Jefferson replied by affirming the First Amendment: “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.”
Notice this exchange of letters was initiated by a church, concerned about intrusion on their faith by the state. Jefferson’s “wall,” properly understood in context, is actually good news. It simply asserts what the First Amendment already set in stone: government cannot 1) make a law to establish a particular religion, or 2) make a law prohibiting the free exercise of religion.
This “wall” was not intended to keep religious values and principles out of government – it was to keep government from dictating a specific state religion!
What does this mean for you, the voter?
Our mission of equipping people to vote wisely and to stand up for biblical values means we want to see laws that are based on principles such as the sanctity of human life, justice, impartiality, responsible stewardship, and religious liberty. We don’t want to “wall” them out. Neither did America’s founders, including Thomas Jefferson. Such laws benefit everyone, regardless of their beliefs. They may even be championed by people who do not believe in the God of the Bible.
With a proper understanding of what Jefferson meant, we are not ashamed to champion biblical principles in the public square. Neither should you, the voter, be ashamed to vote according to biblical values.
