[mrsmith]

See 47 above.

I think she was intent on “separation” and never caught his switch to ‘establishment”.

[Greek]

For the record, the phrase “a wall of separation between church and state...” was first penned by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to the Danbury Baptist convention wherein he was arguing the exact opposite of how it was used in 1947: The State is prohibited in interfering in the affairs of the church in a negative sense, and should in fact encourage and foster a non hostile environment for the promotion of the same...

[truthfreedom]

“Government shall make no establishment of religion,” Coons responded, reciting from memory the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Except that Yale Law grad got it wrong. The 1A does not say that. And he should have his diploma revoked for failure to understand what the 1A says. This wasn’t merely paraphrasing.

#1 - it says Congress, not Government

#2 - 1A says respecting and “an establishment of religion”

Here’s a reasonable paraphrase. Congress can make no law “dealing with at all (respecting)” “something that is up to the states and localities to decide (an establishment of religion).

This isn’t highly theoretical stuff. She’s basically taking the position that Clarence Thomas lays out so well. Many many scholars have written extensively on this.