Why is it so difficult for some to not see that there was never a "separation of church and state" intended during the pen of the First Amendment. Because some groups of people or organizations say it is so doesn't make it so. History documentation is what should rule.
Let's look at the 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 to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Do you see anything that mentions "separation of church and state"?
It says, Congress shall make no law. It doesn't say established groups either. Now, I am an individual and I should be allowed to express my feelings about my beliefs. If I am not allowed to speak or express my feelings about my beliefs, then that would be "...prohibiting the free exercise thereof." When certain organized individuals or groups tell us what we can or cannot do with our thoughts or expressions, or how we will conduct or carry out those thoughts or expressions, we are being "abridged" upon. There is so much history documented to prove what our Founding Fathers truly felt or intended regarding the First Amendment. Alan Sears, in his book, The ACLU vs. America, states, "What the framers of the Constitution meant when they wrote the First Amendment was only that the federal government-and only federal government's Congress-was to be prohibited from establishing a national church, like the Church of England, or requiring that sectarian policy be forced on an individual state or the federal government. It did not mean that the government could censor public religious expression, deny churches and religious organizations equal access to public facilities, or the church and government could not work together."
I challenge you, Mr. and Mrs. American, to read the documentation of what went into building our Constitution and those individuals behind it (see link and references below), and decide for yourselves on the suspected issue of "separation of church and state." And, while you are at it Mr. and Mrs. American, you may want to read the history of the ACLU's founding authors' beliefs, and intentions. I believe you will find it to be an eye-opener to the power and destruction that has been perpetuated against "We the people..."
Ref: The ACLU vs. America by Alan Sears and Craig Osten.
Alliance Defense Fund
First Amendment, U.S. Constitution; http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am1.
http://www.rutherford.org/oldspeak/articles/religion/oldspeak-dreisbach2.asp
See Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School Dist., 113 S.CT. 2141 (1993).
http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/ACLU_Slams_JROTC_as_Violation_of_International_Law_5684.html
