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Originally Posted by LauraMac
No, the intent of the framers was to have a wall of separation between church and state [meaning government]
In placing the "establishment clause" in the constitution - It was Thomas Jeffersons deliberate intent that it was there to keep secular and non-secular matters apart. He wrote a letter to those working on the constituional drafts with him the following,
"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence 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 and state.
Because it is one of the few areas that the founders were quite explicit in their intent - this is why the courts have ruled so uniformly over the centuries - despite the political tilt of any particular court - against government establishment or acts that seem to favor one religion or any religion at all. This isn't something evolved through court decision - it is one of the rare clearly stated articles in the Constitution.
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Ok, but I still don't see where it says anything about seperation of church and state. It says that they cannot creat laws that favors one religion over another, but it still doesn't say anything about seperation. But whatever, it doesn't matter how it came about, point is, it's a good idea, and I don't see how a statue of the 10 commandments violates this, but like I said before, to me it should be up to the people to decide. Sadly, it hardly ever turns out that way.
