It's Separation Of Church And State, Not Divorce by Randy Russ

The phrase "separation of church and state", is one of the most well known and least understood phrases in modern American lexicon. A majority of Americans are certain it is contained in the Constitution but the dirty little secret is the term is not mentioned anywhere in that revered document.The phrase entered the American political environment when President Thomas Jefferson responded to a letter he received from constituents.Why could a portion of a single letter trump the United States Constitution? Why would a metaphor be taken literally and used for settled law?Jefferson was not even in the United States while the amendment was debated and adopted. Jefferson and Madison comprise less than 6%% of the total number of founders cited, but their words are used by Supreme Court Justices more than 79%% of the time. Heck, eight percent of Americans think Elvis is alive. Founders such as, George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, Alexander Hamilton and Patrick Henry are virtually ignored.