America was not founded as a Christian nation—it was founded on the radical notion that no religion should be allowed to govern the state. The First Amendment to the Constitution actually states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” In one sentence, the basis is given for one of America’s most important democratic ideals: the separation of church and state.
And yet, this defining line is presently obscured, twisted by politicians who use religion not to protect religion—but to arm it. Over the last several years, abortion policy, education policy, LGBTQ+ rights, and censorship have increasingly rested on some religious instruction more than constitutional principle or public consensus. For example, the majority opinion of Justice Samuel Alito in Dobbs v. Jackson rested on 17th- and 18th-century legal philosophy steeped in Christian moral tradition even though most Americans, across religion, believe that abortion should be legal at least in some situations.
Religious conviction can be a guide for personal behavior. But it cannot be used to control the lives of others. Just because your religion disapproves of something doesn’t mean the rest of the country needs to. That’s not religious freedom—that’s religious domination.
This country was built on the idea of pluralism: that we are stronger when people of all faiths, or no faith at all, are equal under the law. A government of one religion cannot speak for the people. It cannot protect the rights of Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists—or even Christians who differ over scripture.
Entanglement advocates usually insist they’re just battling to defend “Christian values.” But values being legislated—control, censorship, exclusion—are nothing at all like what Christ taught. Jesus really did teach humility and compassion, not political domination.
If anything, the present effort to place religion in legislation is not adhering to true Christianity—it’s disrupting it. This pressure for religious governance also threatens individual rights, especially for women, LGBTQ persons, and religious minorities. Legislation grounded in one group’s scripture necessarily excludes others. A 2024 Freedom From Religion Foundation report shows increasing numbers of public officials openly violating constitutional limits and justifying policies in religious terms, often explicitly Christian. For example, the FFRF filed complaints against several Texas churches for political endorsements from the pulpit, actions that challenged the separation of church and state.
When legislators invoke the Bible rather than the Constitution, they are no longer representing the public—they are representing a church. And that’s not democracy. The Founding Fathers were aware of such dangers. James Madison warned in a 1785 letter that mixing church and state “will be a dangerous abuse of power.” In his 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptists, Thomas Jefferson wrote of building “a wall of separation“ between them. This wall is crumbling. And every time it does, a little bit of democracy goes with it. We don’t have to think the same things in order to coexist peacefully. But we do need to rule by laws that serve to protect all people, not just the religious majority. We must be reminded that in America, no one’s religion has the right to determine another person’s life.
Freedom of religion is not freedom to control other people. It’s freedom to live your truth—while letting others live theirs. Without the separation of church and state, we don’t just risk bad policy. We risk the very foundation of American liberty.
