Clarifying definition of separation of church and state
In response to Ron Nicholls’ letter in the Dec. 2 edition, the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, as written in Webster’s Dictionary, states: “The separation of religion and government mandated under the establishment clause and the free exercise clause of the U.S. Constitution that forbids governmental establishment or preference of a religion and that preserves religious freedom from governmental intrusion.” Definition of separation of church and state says: “The act or state of keeping government and religion separate from each other.” Why is this important? It protects our rights to express our deepest beliefs in word and action. We have five rights under the First Amendment: 1) Speech, 2) Press, 3) Assembly, 4) Religion, 5) Right to petition our government.
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