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Tn previous articles, I have J.pointed out that the phrase — “separation of church and state” is not in the U.S. *’’Constitution.
Some will conclude that this means that I am advocating the opposite notion — combining church and state. Nothing could be further from " the truth. The Constitution clearly states that a statesponsored Church or religious institution is prohibited. « ' We are a nation in which people are free to worship .where and how they please, without government intrusion. It would be wrong for us to forget that this noble experiment in government iw&p made possible only because of the diversity of i,-faiths of the colonists and thfelr willingness to tolerate - others in their disparate expressions of belief.
As stated in the Virginia Bill of Rights: “religion, or the Duty which we owe our Creator ... can be directed only by Reason and Convictions, not by Force or Violence; and therefore all Men are equally entitled to the free exercise of Religion, according to the Dictates of Conscience; and that it is the mutual Duty of all to practice Christian Forbearance, Love, and Charity towards each other.”
Our founding fathers believed in the fundamental < concept that people must be "i ■ free to exercise religion apart % from coercion by the government. I respectfully submit * •tbfUt no nation can obtain or * long possess political freedom apnrt from a hunger in its __ people for religious freedom. - _ Religious fundamentalists in Afghanistan represent the * antithesis of this concept. They
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