Separation of Church and State Debate

Damn you Thomas Jefferson, if a certain founding father hadn't written a certain letter to a Virginia Baptist pastor, the entire matter of "separation of church and state" or at least the phraseology wouldn't exist, and I for one couldn't be happier. The concept, as far as western civilization is fairly new and unique to the United States, in so much as we incorporated the idea from the very beginning. The British did make it so that the monarch was not the head of the Church of England except ceremonially and that was significant. The concept of freedom of religion was an 18^th century progressive concept and wouldn't really be encapsulated into law or anything until Queen Victoria did not shut out, but accepted with skepticism, the Catholic Church in the 1840's.

America was colonized for religious freedom and that has been the theme of our country from 1776 to the present day. Our government was founded with a Christian, moral people in mind so much so that John Adams said, ". . .it is wholly inadequate for any other." The Christian character of the American people, their goodness and their giving nature has always been a hallmark of the nation and is a result of a Christian foundation. In this post-modern period there is a significant group of people who wish that the country weren't that way. In the same way there is a significant amount of people (namely the Christian Right) who wish the government were more Christian and enforced their own brand of morality a little more.