View source for Separation of church and state

==Origins==

[[Roger Williams]], the [[Puritan]] founder of [[Rhode Island]], had been expelled from both England and Massachusetts for his religious beliefs.  Williams' ideas on liberty grew out of his Puritanism; the key to his thought is his idea of divine sovereignty, which he believed to be checked in some measure by every restriction laid on the church by the State. He sought what he termed a "'''wall of separation'''" between church and state to protect the church and divine sovereignty.  He was nearly unique in his approach.

[[John Locke]], the English political philosopher who influenced the Founding Fathers, was influenced by the same Puritan milieu which shaped Williams,{{fact}} but he shifted the argument to a [[Humanism|humanistic]] base; instead of being concerned about the State not giving proper allegiance to God, he was concerned that the State would not allow people full freedom in the exercise of certain inalienable rights. The writings of both [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]] and [[James Madison|Madison]] reflect the Lockean orientation.

Among dissenters supporting religious freedom were Baptists [[John Leland]] and [[Isaac Backus]]. Backus appealed to Enlightenment figures in his political pamphlets supporting separation, but the Revolutionary Era was generally unaware of Williams and of his theological defense of religious freedom.<ref>Leroy Moore, , Jr. Religious Liberty: Roger Williams and the Revolutionary Era. Church History 1965 34(1): 57-76. 0009-6407</ref> 

By the 1770s the [[Baptists]] in colonial America took the lead in calling for the separation of church and state, especially in Virginia where the [[Anglican]] Church was supported by tax revenues and had a role in local government. They fought in the period 1775-1810 for the disestablishment of the Anglican church and freedom of religion for all citizens.  Three doctrines served as the foundation for the Baptist position: the nature of salvation, the nature of the church, and a belief in the necessity for the separation of civil and ecclesiastical authority. Baptists did not achieve separation of church and state alone (for the active aid of [[Thomas Jefferson]] and [[James Madison]] was also a considerable factor), but did serve as a constant reminder of the necessity of securing what they believed to be the inalienable rights of men.<ref>Jesse C. Green, Jr. "The Early Virginia Argument for Separation of Church and State" ''Baptist History and Heritage'' 1976 11(1): 16-26. 0005-5719</ref> 

No other American clergyman was more conspicuous or influential in public affairs in the Revolutionary years and immediately thereafter than [[John Witherspoon]], President of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton). Witherspoon also served in the New Jersey Legislature and the Continental Congress, and was a signatory to the Declaration of Independence. In his lectures to students, Witherspoon showed himself "in all essentials an exponent of John Locke's views on government and toleration." When the American Presbyterian Church was organized in 1786, Witherspoon drafted the preface to the new "Form of Government." In it he asserted the universal inalienable right of private judgment in religion and repudiated special aid to churches by civil power, thus reaffirming the position taken by the colonial Presbyterian Church in 1729 in adopting the [[Westminster Confession of Faith]] with a declaratory statement rejecting any State control over the synods as well as any power of the civil government "to persecute any for their religion." The primary concern of Witherspoon and the Presbyterian Church was clearly religious liberty; separation of church and state was valued as a means to that end.<ref>John Hastings  Nichols, "John Witherspoon on Church and State" ''Journal of Presbyterian History'' 1964 42(3): 166-174. 0022-3883</ref>

In a Judiciary Committee report published by the House of Representatives in 1854 titled "''Chaplains in Congress and in the Army and Navy''" it was noted that:
:Had the people during the Revolution, had a suspicion of any attempt to war against Christianity, that Revolution would have been strangled in its cradle.  At the time of the adoption of the constitution and the amendments, the universal sentiment was that Christianity should be encouraged - not any one sect.  Any attempt to level and discard all religion, would have been viewed with universal indignation.<ref>[https://www.google.com/books/edition/Reports_of_Committees/zaoFAAAAQAAJ Reports of Committees - 16th Congress, 1st Session - 49th Congress, 1st Session], 1854, H. Rep. 124, 33rd Congress, 1st Session</ref>

===Biblical basis===
The [[Gospels]] strongly imply an affirmation of separation of church and state:<ref>[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+12%3A13-17&version=ESV Mark 12:13–17]</ref>
{{cquote|And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar's.” Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” And they marveled at him.|||Mark 12:13–17}}

In making a clear distinction between Caesar, representing the government, and God, Jesus's statement of "render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's" relies on the ''premise'' that the church and state are separate entities. In the circumstance that a religious entity controls the state and mandates apostate worship (a future occurrence in the enactment of the [[mark of the beast]]), it would be impossible to simultaneously obey God and government.

===No religious test===
The Founding Fathers had also included another provision for separating the undue influence of religion from both the federal and the state governments, which was that one could not be disqualified from office on the basis of one's religious beliefs. Article VI of the Constitution states:
{{cquote|The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.}}