The government can't make laws favoring one religion thereby restricting another religion. The urban legend that it was only meant to stop government from restricting a religion was a misquote from some misguided pastor. Separation of church and state is just that, that is what the country was founded on. This is also a thread for the lists and newsgroups that it was intended for. ---Jaeger <Jaeger@hempseed.com> wrote:
well, the first amendment is what I expected to be used... unfortunately, the phrase "...wall of separation between church and state" is not taken from the first amendment. It is taken from a
written by Thomas Jefferson... and the meaning is not that church shouldn't have an effect on the state. The state CAN support one religion over another. In context, the phrase simply explains that
government can't make laws that RESTRICT religious practice or doctrinal issues. The state CAN make laws that encourage the practice of any one particular religion, as long as the laws do not RESTRICT the PRACTICE of other religions. Making people uncomfortable isn't a constitutional reason to overturn a law.
btw, notice the wording in the first amendment...it only restricts gov't restrictions on religion.
Jaeger
Gee, check out the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Also
first item in the Bill of Rights. "Congress shall make no law respecting
establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise
letter the the the thereof..."
(from memory, so don't bother me with minor wording corrections.)
By standard convention, this is also referred to as "separation of church and state."
As with the clueless AOLers yakking about an "Assimov" story they
read
a couple of years ago in the 5th grade, you bozos need to get educated and spend a minute or two thinking before writing.
== "The same thing we do every night Pinkey, try to take over the WORLD!" - The brain _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
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