Isaac Backus Quotes

The disconnection of Church and State was a master stroke for freedom and harmony.

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

There should be absolutely no 'Separation of Church and State' in America.

I think there ought to be a strict separation or wall built between our religious faith and our practice of political authority in office. I don't think the President of the United States should extoll Christianity if he happens to be a Christian at the expense of Judaism, Islam or other faiths.

I think the founding fathers believed religion shouldn't interact directly with government.

All religions united with government are more or less inimical to liberty. All separated from government, are compatible with liberty.

What is crucial is that a government practice not have the effect of communicating a message of governmental endorsement or disapproval of religion.

The First Amendment mandates government neutrality between religion and religion, and between religion and non-religion.

There's a reason we seperate Church and State. The reason for the richness and the diversity of religion in this nation is because of the seperation of Church and State, and there are people out there who can't wait to make this nation a nation of one religion... THEIR religion.

Total separation of church and state was considered the best safeguard for the health of each. As [Andrew] Jackson explained, in refusing to name a fast day, he feared to 'disturb the security which religion now enjoys in this country, in its complete separation from the political concerns of the General Government.'

The separation of Church and State in everything relating to taxation should be absolute.

I fully understand it's important to maintain the separation of church and state. We don't want the state to become the church, nor do we want the church to become the state.

The United States furnishes the first example in history of a government deliberately depriving itself of all legislative control of religion.

The separation of church and state is necessary partly because if religion is good then the state shouldn't interfere with the religious vision or with the religious prophet.

The union of Church and State is not to make the Church political, but the State religious.

Separation of church and state is the big club pulled out to beat back the Christians .

We believe in separation of church and state, that there should be no unwarranted influence on the church or religion by the state, and vice versa.

That's why I believe in a Constitution which separates church from state. I've seen what happens when they get in cahoots.

Most people I know I think agree and even many theists agree with this. We don't want government involved. When atheists become the majority in this country, I don't think the theists are going to be glad to have "one nation under no God" inserted in the Pledge of Allegiance.

The problem is efforts by liberals to establish a wall between religion and society, in the guise of maintaining the wall between church and state.

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

It is the wall of separation between church and state . . . that is largely responsible for religion thriving in this country, as compared to those European countries in which church and state have been united, resulting in opposition to the church by those who disapprove of the government.

The mixing of government and religion can be a threat to free government, even if no one is forced to participate.... When the government puts its imprimatur on a particular religion, it conveys a message of exclusion to all those who do not adhere to the favored beliefs. A government cannot be premised on the belief that all persons are created equal when it asserts that God prefers some.

Those who would renegotiate the boundaries between church and state must therefore answer a difficult question: why would we trade a system that has served us so well for one that has served others so poorly?

Wherever you've got a state church, you have empty churches.