Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Separation of church and state goes both ways. It protects the various religious establishments from the goverment. (Look at what happened in the USSR) and it protects the government (run by, of, and for the people) from religion. I am a Wiccan and it is just as bad to put someone in a wicker chair in the USA as it would be for the churches to get together and burn someone at the stake (for witchcraft or heresy). This provision in the bill of rights also protects Christians from being persecuted Roman style. By the way, the Romans persecuted atheists too. (and conversely, communist nations like the USSR persecuted religious folks)
Also, I do not like to call myself pagan, since the word means country dweller and smacks of Roman authoritarianism. By the way, the Bible was on the Roman Catholic Index during the middle ages.
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