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Do not fill this in! ===Church and state relations=== {{see also|Accommodationism}} The Christian right believes that separation of church and state is not explicit in the American Constitution, believing instead that such separation is a creation of what it claims are activist judges in the judicial system.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.patrobertson.com/Teaching/Teachingonfirstamendment.asp|title=The First Amendment|publisher=PatRobertson.com|author=Pat Robertson}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpre.html |title=Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists |website=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=December 26, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=ThinkExist.com Quotations |url=http://thinkexist.com/quotation/the_purpose_of_separation_of_church_and_state_is/212643.html |title=James Madison quotes |publisher=Thinkexist.com |access-date=December 26, 2011}}</ref> In the United States, the Christian right often supports their claims by asserting that the country was "[[Christian nationalism|founded by Christians as a Christian Nation]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.RES.888:|title=House Resolution 888 United States House of Representatives (Bill Text – 110th Congress (2007–2008) – THOMAS)|publisher=Library of Congress|date=December 18, 2007|access-date=January 25, 2008|archive-date=October 14, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014160204/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.RES.888:|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=A Nonbeliever |url=http://freethought.mbdojo.com/foundingfathers.html |title=America is not founded upon Christianity but the Enlightenment |publisher=Freethought.mbdojo.com |access-date=December 26, 2011}}</ref> Members of the Christian right take the position that the [[Establishment Clause]] bars the federal government from establishing or sponsoring a state church (e.g., the Church of England), but does not prevent the government from acknowledging religion. The Christian right points out that the term "separation of church and state" is derived from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson, not from the Constitution itself.<ref>{{cite web |last=Watkins |first=Shanea |url=http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2006/06/the-mythical-wall-of-separation-how-a-misused-metaphor-changed-church-state-law-policy-and-discourse |title=The Mythical "Wall of Separation": How a Misused Metaphor Changed Church–State Law, Policy, and Discourse |publisher=The Heritage Foundation |access-date=December 26, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.frc.org/familypolicylecture/policy-lecture--wall-of-separation-between-church-and-state |title=Wall of Separation Between Church and State: Myth, Reality, Results |publisher=Family Research Council |access-date=December 26, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Charles E. Steele |url=http://www.schoolprayerinamerica.info/1separationchurchstate.html |title=Separation of Church and State, Thomas Jefferson, and the First Amendment |publisher=Schoolprayerinamerica.info |date=January 18, 2009 |access-date=December 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106072029/http://www.schoolprayerinamerica.info/1separationchurchstate.html |archive-date=January 6, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Furthermore, [[Alliance Defending Freedom]] (ADF) takes the view that the concept of "separation of church and state" has been used by the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] and its allies to inhibit public acknowledgment of Christianity and restrict the religious freedoms of Christians.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/ReligiousFreedom |title=Religious Freedom |publisher=Alliance Defense Fund |access-date=December 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226183052/http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/ReligiousFreedom |archive-date=December 26, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Thus, Christian right leaders have argued that the Establishment Clause does not prohibit the display of religion in the public sphere. Leaders, therefore, believe that public institutions should be allowed, or even required, to display the [[Ten Commandments]]. This interpretation has been repeatedly rejected by the courts, which have found that such displays violate the [[Establishment Clause of the First Amendment|Establishment Clause]]. Public officials though are prohibited from using their authority in which the primary effect is "advancing or prohibiting religion", according to the Lemon Supreme Court test, and there cannot be an "excessive entanglement with religion" and the government. Some, such as Bryan Fischer of the [[American Family Association]], argue that the First Amendment, which specifically restricts Congress, applies only to the Congress and not the states. This position rejects the [[incorporation of the Bill of Rights]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://action.afa.net/Blogs/BlogPost.aspx?id=2147492060 |title=The First Amendment means what it says - RIGHTLYCONCERNED.COM |publisher=Action.afa.net |date=February 19, 2010 |access-date=December 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721203505/http://action.afa.net/Blogs/BlogPost.aspx?id=2147492060 |archive-date=July 21, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Generally, the Christian right supports the presence of religious institutions within government and the public sphere, and advocates for fewer restrictions on government funding for religious charities and schools. Both Catholics and Protestants, according to a 2005 [[Gallup (company)|Gallup]] study, have been supportive of [[school prayer]] in public schools.<ref name="Wilson2007"/><ref name="GallupNewport2006">{{cite book|last1=Gallup|first1=Alec|last2=Newport|first2=Frank|title=The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion 2005|year=2006|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|language=en|isbn=9780742552586|page=318|quote=Related to their support of school prayer, most Americans also believe that religion should have a greater 'presence' in public schools. ... Protestants are most likely to favor school prayer (82%), followed closely by Catholics (75%).}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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