Quote:
Originally posted by KSigkid
Also, the Founders/Framers were very good politicians; after the experience with Great Britain, they weren't going to start alienating people on the basis of religion.
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At the risk of throwing a monkey wrench into this discussion, I'm not sure this is totally accurate. What they weren't going to start doing was getting the
federal government involved in alienating people on the basis of religion. This was partially due to historical experience and partially due to the belief that any "establishment" question was for the states, not the federal government, to decide. Some states -- Massachusetts comes to mind, if my mind is working correctly -- had established churches well after the adoption of the First Amendment.
That Amendment, of course, only provides that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." It wasn't until the passage of the 14th Amendment, after the Civil War, that the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses were made applicable to the states.
Just to muddy it up a little more.