The Gay Secretary
"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. " -- Thomas Jefferson
The Founding Fathers of America, only a few generations removed from the religious wars that had rocked England, and even closer to the religious hysteria that led to lynching of accused witches in Salem, Massachusetts, recognized that whenever one religion gains civil power the first thing it does is attack all other religions. So, in order to preserve religious freedom for all, political power must be denied to all religions
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