Church And State Quotes

• The "wall of separation between church and State" is a metaphor based on bad history.

  William Rehnquist

  Wall, Church, Separation

  "Wallace v. Jaffree, 472 U.S. 38". The U.S. Supreme Court case, supreme.justia.com. June 4, 1985.

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• Lighthouses are more helpful than churches.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Spiritual, Religious, Atheist

  James C. Humes, Benjamin Franklin (1995). “The wit and wisdom of Benjamin Franklin: a treasury of more than 900 quotations and anecdotes”, Harpercollins

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• I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute - where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act. I do not speak for my church on public matters - and the church does not speak for me.

  John F. Kennedy

  Believe, America, Catholic

  Address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, delivered 12 September 1960 at the Rice Hotel in Houston, TX

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• We in the United States, above all, must remember that lesson, for we were founded as a nation of openness to people of all beliefs. And so we must remain. Our very unity has been strengthened by our pluralism. We establish no religion in this country, we command no worship, we mandate no belief, nor will we ever. Church and state are, and must remain, separate. All are free to believe or not believe, all are free to practice a faith or not, and those who believe are free, and should be free, to speak of and act on their belief.

  Ronald Reagan

  Country, Believe, Pluralism Is

  Ronald Reagan's Remarks to Members of the Congregation of Temple Hillel and Jewish Community Leaders in Valley Stream, New York, www.reaganlibrary.gov. October 26, 1984.

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• I have sworn upon the altar of God Eternal, hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Change, Religious, Men

  Letter to Benjamin Rush, 23 Sept. 1800

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• Strongly guarded as is the separation between Religion and Government in the Constitution of the United States, the danger of encroachment by Ecclesiastical Bodies may be illustrated by precedents already furnished in their short history.

  James Madison

  Government, Religion, Atheism

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• The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Religious, Atheist, Government

  Notes on the State of Virginia, query 17 (1781 - 1785)

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• And I have no doubt that every new example will succeed, as every past one has done, in showing that religion and Government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together.

  James Madison

  Past, Government, Doubt

  James Madison, David B. Mattern (1997). “James Madison's "Advice to My Country"”, p.89, University of Virginia Press

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• The number, the industry, and the morality of the priesthood, and the devotion of the people have been manifestly increased by the total separation of the church from the state.

  James Madison

  Numbers, People, Religion

  James Madison (1819). “The Writings of James Madison: 1808-1819”, p.432

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• Erecting the 'wall of separation between church and state'... is absolutely essential in a free society.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Religious, Wall, Religion

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• The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe with blood for centuries.

  James Madison

  Patriotic, Blood, Europe

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• The church must be reminded that it is not the master, or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Christian, Church, States

  1963 Strength to Love.

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• Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Religious, Law, Presidential

  Thomas Jefferson (1829). “Reports of Cases Determined in the General Court of Virginia: From 1730, to 1740; and from 1768, to 1772”, p.140

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• The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Religious, Government, Political

  Thomas Jefferson (1854). “The Writings of Thomas Jefferson: Inaugural addresses and messages. Replies to public addresses. Indian addresses. Miscellaneous: 1. Notes on Virginia; 2. Biographical sketches of distinguished men; 3. The batture of New Orleans”, p.400

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• Leave the matter of religion to the family altar, the church, and the private school, supported entirely by private contributions. Keep the church and state forever separate.

  Ulysses S. Grant

  School, Forever, Political

  Speech to the Society of the Army of Tennessee, archive.org. 1875.

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• All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.

  Thomas Paine

  Inspirational, Christian, Atheist

  Thomas Paine (1821). “The Theological Works of Thomas Paine”, p.2

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• The United States have adventured upon a great and noble experiment, which is believed to have been hazarded in the absence of all previous precedent - that of total separation of Church and State. No religious establishment by law exists among us. The conscience is left free from all restraint and each is permitted to worship his Maker after his own judgement.

  John Tyler

  Religious, Law, Presidential

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• Thank God, under our Constitution there was no connection between Church and State, and that in my action as President of the United States I recognized no distinction of creeds in my appointments office.

  James K. Polk

  Office, Presidential, Thank God

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• Thank God, under our Constitution there was no connection between church and state.

  James K. Polk

  Thank God, Church, Connections

  James K. Polk (2015). “The Diary of James K. Polk During His Presidency”, p.353, BIG BYTE BOOKS

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• I believe in the separation of church and state and would not use my authority to violate this principle in any way.

  Jimmy Carter

  Believe, Presidential, Church

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• We establish no religion in this country. We command no worship. We mandate no belief, nor will we ever. Church and state are and must remain separate.

  Ronald Reagan

  Country, Pluralism Is, Presidential

  United States. President (1981-1989 : Reagan), Ronald Reagan (1982). “Ronald Reagan”

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• As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion, - as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen, - and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

  John Adams

  Christian, Religious, Atheist

  "Treaty of Peace and Friendship, Signed at Tripoli". The Barbary Treaties 1786-1816, avalon.law.yale.edu. November 04, 1796.

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• I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death.

  George Carlin

  Religious, Atheist, Ideas

  "Biography/Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

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• I don't believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute.

  Rick Santorum

  Believe, America, Church

  "GOP Candidate Rick Santorum". 'This Week' with George Stephanopoulos, abcnews.go.com. February 26, 2012.

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• The divorce between Church and State ought to be absolute. It ought to be so absolute that no Church property anywhere, in any state or in the nation, should be exempt from equal taxation; for if you exempt the property of any church organization, to that extent you impose a tax upon the whole community.

  James A. Garfield

  Divorce, Organization, Community

  Remark during Congressional debate. "Congressional Record", 43rd Congress, 1st Session, p. 5384, memory.loc.gov. June 22, 1874.

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