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Separation of church and state is the idea that government should remain neutral toward all religions and not officially recognize or favor any one religion.

In the separation of church and state, church refers to religion in general, while state refers to the government.

In the United States, the First Amendment of the Constitution ensures freedom of religion. This means that the government cannot give special treatment to one religion at the expense of other religions. It also can’t unfairly punish one specific religion. Americans are free to practice any religion they want or to practice no religion at all.

The First Amendment also forbids the government from establishing a state religion in what is known as the Establishment Clause. Over the centuries, courts and scholars have interpreted the Establishment Clause to mean that the government should be entirely neutral in regards to religion and must maintain a separation of church and state.

In practice, this means that the government cannot establish a national religion. It also means that the government cannot force citizens to practice a specific religion nor force churches to perform acts that go against their religion. This is why, for example, an American Catholic church can refuse to perform a same-sex marriage even though American law recognizes same-sex marriage as legal.

And just as religion is free from the command of the government, the government is free from the command of religious groups. For example, the United States government does not have to follow any religious scripture or laws. The government is free to pass any law it wants, even if the law conflicts with a religious commandment.

In American politics, the idea of a metaphorical separation of religion and the government has been credited to the founder of the colony of Rhode Island, Roger Williams.

The idea of separation of church and state was popularized by Thomas Jefferson in a letter he wrote to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802. In the letter Jefferson said that when Americans accepted the Bill of Rights, they “built a wall of separation between the church and state.”

However, the term separation of church and state doesn’t appear anywhere in the Constitution. It became more popular when Justice Hugo Black quoted Jefferson in Everson v. Board of Education (1947) in the Supreme Court’s ruling that there should be a separation of church and state.

The legal understanding of separation of church and state does not forbid the government from expressing religious sentiments entirely. This is why God can be mentioned on American currency, why politicians can swear oaths on a religious text, and why Christmas Day, a Christian religious holiday, can be recognized as a federal holiday.

This picture shows a Christian church. According to separation of church and state, government and religion should remain independent of each other.

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Many Americans are skeptical about whether there actually is separation of church and state.

As a proud Christian, I will always be guided by my faith. I also believe that in America we have a separation of church and state. Judge Barrett’s beliefs do not empower her to take away civil rights and health care from the American people.

— Rep. Val Demings (@RepValDemings)

Don’t let these Republicans who don’t believe in the separation of church and state shift the narrative of what religious freedom is actually about.

Women’s reproductive rights shouldn’t be dictated by anyone’s religious beliefs. Period.

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN)

• government
• religion
• secular
• First Amendment
• freedom of religion
• Roger Williams
• Thomas Jefferson

True or False?

Separation of church and state is the idea that the government should ban religious practice.