[The Westerner]

Nopardons, in the almost 20 years I've been here, no one has answered the religionists reinterpretation of Separation of Church and State until this Jefferson reference! Kudos, and keep going! This was not a “Christian” nation as Jefferson said there will be no State Religion. Heavens, we studied this in grade school in the fifties and sixties. It's why my family chose to come here during pogroms. It used to be rude, uncouth to ask a person's religion...that was considered a private matter of conscience. Thank you for the education lessons!

[nopardons]

You're welcome; I always post FACTUAL HISTORY, when it's called for. I have posted about this ( the separation of church and state ) on FR before, but it was very long ago.

Yes, this was taught in ALL schools, decades ago. So I am appalled by the abject lack of American historical knowledge by some posters here.

Yes, one's religion, sex, and politics were once more or less off limits at social gatherings; wealth or lack thereof, too.

[ROCKLOBSTER]

This was not a “Christian” nation as Jefferson said

Yes it was, this nation was founded on JudaeoChristian values (Old Testament/New Testament). The Declaration states this as do the writing of George Washington and other framers in the federalist papers.

there will be no State Religion.

In this context, "State" refers to the Federal Government.

The reason that provision is in the First Amendment is; because the various states wanted to reserve that right for themselves, as the original colonies were safe-havens for the practitioners of various religions that had been persecuted in Europe.

(Pennsylvania-Quaker, Mass/Connecticut,/Rhode Island-Puritan, Maryland-Catholic, New York-Catholics, Jews and Lutherans, etc)

They (obviously and eventually) got over that position.