Changes

This "Free Exercise Clause" of the [[First Amendment]] to the [[U.S. Constitution]] began increasingly to be tested and interpreted by the judiciary in the late 19th century as a result of the increasing population of religious minorities in the United States.   

This "Free Exercise Clause" of the [[First Amendment]] to the [[U.S. Constitution]] began increasingly to be tested and interpreted by the judiciary in the late 19th century as a result of the increasing population of religious minorities in the United States.   

The various differences and contradictions between the founding documents such as the "[[Declaration of Independence]]", the "[[U.S. Constitution]]", the "[[Federalist Papers]]", and the many personal papers of the [[Founding Fathers]] has not helped to resolve the issue as there are different and often contradicting statements regarding the proper influence of religion on government.

The [[Declaration of Independence]], [[U.S. Constitution]], the [[Federalist Papers]], and the many personal papers of the [[Founding Fathers]] have not helped to resolve the issue as there are different and often contradicting statements regarding the proper influence of religion on government as it is difficult to interpret the importance and precedence of personal beliefs, legal intent, and actual verbiage in the documents.

In recent decades,  the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] has used the [[Lemon Test]] as a means for determining whether or not a particular controversy causes excessive entaglement between government and religion, though in some cases has allowed religious icons (such as the Ten Commandments display in Texas <ref http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=03-1500 </ref>).  The first amendment is often paraphrased as "separation of Church and State"; a phrase originating in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association which assured them that their rights (nor anyone's rights) to free exercise of their religion would not be curtailed.

In recent decades,  the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] has used the [[Lemon Test]] as a means for determining whether or not a particular controversy causes excessive entaglement between government and religion, though in some cases has allowed religious icons (such as the Ten Commandments display in Texas <ref http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=03-1500 </ref>).  The first amendment is often paraphrased as "separation of Church and State"; a phrase originating in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association which assured them that their rights (nor anyone's rights) to free exercise of their religion would not be curtailed.