The Danbury Baptists had written Thomas Jefferson to complain about the fact that they were required by the State of Connecticut to contribute (via their taxes) to the established church in Connecticut. This was before the 14th Amendment was passed, so while the Federal government could not establish a religion the States were still free to do so. Although they Baptists were reimbursed for the amount of the contribution if they asked, they thought it was wrong. Thomas Jefferson wrote back a letter sympathizing with them and in that context used the phrase “separation of Church and State”.
Thank-you for clarifying.
But “separation of church and state”....those words....are not in the Constitution, correct?
The libs want “In God We Trust” removed from our coins, too.