the phrase separation of church and state originated with thomas jefferson.
the phrase separation of church and state originated with thomas jefferson.
where does the phrase separation of church and state originated?
thomas jefferson
thomas jefferson wrote that the first amendment erected a "wall of separation between church and state" likely borrowing the language from roger williams, founder of the first baptist church in america and the colony of rhode island, who used the phrase in his 1644 book, "the bloody tenent of persecution". james madison, often regarded as the "father of the bill of rights", also often wrote of the "perfect separation", "line of separation", "strongly guarded as is the separation between religion and government in the constitution of the united states", and "total separation of the church from the state". madison explicitly credited martin luther as the theorist who "led the way" in providing the proper distinction between the civil and the ecclesiastical spheres with his doctrine of the two kingdoms.
freedom of religion in the united states
legal battles concerning the separation of church and state originated in laws dating to 1938 which required religious instruction in school, or provided state funding for religious schools. the catholic church was a leading proponent of such laws; and the primary opponents (the "separationists") were the aclu, americans united for separation of church and state, and the american jewish congress. the aclu led the challenge in the 1947 "everson v. board of education" case, in which justice hugo black wrote "[t]he first amendment has erected a wall between church and state... that wall must be kept high and impregnable." it was not clear that the bill of rights forbid state governments from supporting religious education, and strong legal arguments were made by religious proponents, arguing that the supreme court should not act as a "national school board", and that the constitution did not govern social issues. however, the aclu and other advocates of church/state separation persuaded the court to declare such activities unconstitutional. historian samuel walker writes that the aclu's "greatest impact on american life" was its role in persuading the supreme court to "constitutionalize" so many public controversies.
american civil liberties union