Separation between church and state Quotes

Church and state are, and must remain, separate.

— Ronald Reagan

The [president] has no particle of spiritual jurisdiction. . . .

— Alexander Hamilton

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

— Thomas Jefferson

I have sworn upon the altar of god.

— Thomas Jefferson

Question with boldness even the existence of a god.

— Thomas Jefferson

The divorce between church and state should be absolute.

— James A. Garfield

I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man.

— Thomas Jefferson

I... [am] convinced [man] has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.

— Thomas Jefferson

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

— Rick Santorum

The sole purpose and effect of it is to exclude persecution and to secure the important right of religious liberty.

— Oliver Ellsworth

A man of abilities and character, of any sect whatever, may be admitted to any office of public trust under the United…

— Edmund Randolph

A government cannot be premised on the belief that all persons are created equal when it asserts that god prefers some

— Harry A. Blackmun

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

— James K. Polk

The legislative powers of government reach actions only and not opinions.

— Thomas Jefferson

... happily the Government of the United States... gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.

— George Washington

I almost shudder at the thought of alluding to the most fatal example of the abuses of grief which the history of…

— John Adams

...It would be more consistent that we call [the Bible] the work of a demon than the word of God. It is…

— Thomas Paine

No tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be…

— Hugo Black

What has been the effect of [religious] coercion? To make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites. To support…

— Thomas Jefferson

In regard to religion, mutual toleration in the different professions thereof is what all good and candid minds in all ages have…

— Samuel Adams

Who does not see that . . . the same authority which can force a citizen to contribute three pence only of…

— James Madison

[Disestablishment was] the best thing that ever happened to the state of Connecticut. It cut the churches loose from dependence on state…

— Lyman Beecher

The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the Supreme Being as his father, in the womb of a…

— Thomas Jefferson

I hold that in this country there must be complete severance of Church and State; that public moneys shall not be used…

— Theodore Roosevelt

What is dangerous about the far right is not that it takes religion seriously - most of us do - but rather…

— Barbra Streisand

The United States have adventured upon a great and noble experiment, which is believed to have been hazarded in the absence of…

— John Tyler

Systems of religious error have been adopted in times of ignorance. It has been the interest of tyrannical kings, popes, and prelates…

— Oliver Ellsworth

It is the wall of separation between church and state . . . that is largely responsible for religion thriving in this…

— Alan Dershowitz

“As the government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion, — as it has in…

— Anonymous

We have solved, by fair experiment, the great and interesting question whether freedom of religion is compatible with order in government and…

— Thomas Jefferson

Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by a difference of sentiments in religion appear to…

— George Washington

I consider the government of the United States as interdicted by the Constitution from intermeddling with religious institutions, their doctrines, discipline, or…

— Thomas Jefferson

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

— Thomas Jefferson

The office of reformer of the superstitions of a nation is ever dangerous.

— Thomas Jefferson

Creeds have been the bane of the Christian church ... made of Christendom a slaughter-house.

— Thomas Jefferson

[N]o religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

— James Madison

History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government.

— Thomas Jefferson

Every new and successful example of a perfect separation between ecclesiastical and civil matters is of importance.

— James Madison

The Bible: a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalise mankind.

— Thomas Paine

I would suggest the taxation of all property equally whether church or corporation.

— Ulysses S. Grant