For many people, one of the central principles of American democracy is the strict separation of church and state. Any move in the direction of violating that principle seems to presage the end of American democracy and is usually decried and denounced as such. For those who hold such a view, there are many aspects of American politics that leave them flummoxed and flabbergasted. How can we have “In God We Trust” on our currency? Why does the House of Representatives have an official Chaplain? How can the president end a speech with “God Bless America”? Why is my local polling station a church? Aren’t all of these a violation of the principle of the separation of church and state? Aren’t they all clear violations of the US Constitution?
The short and perhaps shocking answer to all of these questions is that no, none of these is a violation of the principle of the separation of church and state. The reason they do not violate the principle of the separation of church and state is actually quite simple: there is no such principle in American law and politics. The Architects of American democracy — I prefer to use the term Architects rather than Founding Fathers — actually intended for religion to play a central role in politics, primarily as a fount for divinely-guided political virtue.
