The United States Constitution never uses the phrase "separation of church and state." Those words appear nowhere in that venerable document. But its First Amendment, the primary right of the Bill of Rights, reads as follows:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
The Bill of Rights also includes the Tenth Amendment, which affirms that powers not delegated to the federal government, nor prohibited to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
At least two precepts need to be highlighted in our day wherein the unconstitutional separation phrase is being used to ride roughshod over religious liberty
First, regarding the non-establishment clause in the First Amendment. Note that it applies specifically to the U.S. Congress. It did not apply to state governments, as the Tenth Amendment makes clear. It was perfectly legal for STATE constitutions to have religious tests. For example, the original constitution of Delaware (A.D. 1776) read as follows:
"Every person who shall be chosen a member of either house, or appointed to any office or place of trust, before taking his seat, or entering upon the execution of his office, shall take the following oath, or affirmation, if conscientiously scrupulous of taking an oath, to wit: 'I, do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, and in the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed for evermore; and I do acknowledge the holy scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration.' "
Wow! If early America was a dark lair for Christophobic haters, is it possible that such a LEGAL requirement could have been enacted? What about the other original states? Of the 11 that adopted new state constitutions between 1776 and 1784, only Virginia (1776) and New York (1777) omitted profoundly Christian religious tests for those holding office.
And although that body was forbidden to establish a national religion, members of the U.S. Congress were not afraid to express their religious faith, as the practice of opening sessions of Congress with prayer demonstrated.
Second, consider the clause "…prohibiting the free exercise thereof." In other words, religious expression is not to be confined to churches. It is illegal to prevent citizens from PUBLICLY speaking about their beliefs, wearing symbols representing them, etc., so long as that expression does not violate the rights of others.
(For examples, forcing non-Muslims submit to Sharia law, or a group of men kneeling on mats laid down on a major thoroughfare thus preventing the flow of traffic are not cases of the free exercise of religion.)
The U.S. Constitution is not a confession of faith like the Apostles' Creed. However, state constitutions, the practice of opening sessions of congress with prayer, taking oaths by placing one's hand on the Bible in American courts, innumerable monuments, the painting "The Baptism of Pocahontas" still on display in the capital rotunda, and the Declaration of Independence itself all demonstrate that the role of the Christian faith in the founding of America is beyond dispute.
The Biblical world view is the context of the U.S. Constitution. The context of any document is crucial. Without its context, the constitution is like a fish out of water. Changing it into a "living document" will eventuate in that end of the civilization it supports by the grace of God.
Here is a treasure trove of in depth articles on this topic:
reformedpolitics.substack.com/s/older-voices/archive
Finally, make your vote count in the mid-term elections next Tuesday, November 3!