Where is “Separation of Church and State” in the Constitution?
The relevant part of the First Amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” Those words are known as the “Establishment Clause.” One of the goals of the Founding Fathers was to prevent the federal government from creating an “established church,” as Britain had (and, indeed, still has). Clearly, the Establishment Clause prevents the government from doing that, but over the years, the Supreme Court has held that the clause prevents a wide variety of government actions that support, or might even appear to endorse, religion.
