Roger Williams University Law Review Volume 26 Issue 2 Vol. 26: No. 2 (Spring 2021) Article 8 Symposium: Is This a Christian Nation? Spring 2021 A Wall Between a Secular Government and a Religious People John A. Ragosta Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.rwu.edu/rwu_LR Part of the First Amendment Commons, and the Religion Law Commons Recommended Citation Ragosta, John A. (2021) "A Wall Between a Secular Government and a Religious People," Roger Williams University Law Review: Vol. 26 : Iss. 2 , Article 8. Available at: https://docs.rwu.edu/rwu_LR/vol26/iss2/8 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Law at DOCS@RWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Roger Williams University Law Review by an authorized editor of DOCS@RWU. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. A Wall Between a Secular Government and a Religious People John A. Ragosta* INTRODUCTION The “wall of separation” between church and state, a phrase popularized by Thomas Jefferson and unanimously embraced by the Supreme Court in its first religious freedom case, is a useful metaphor to describe how, under the Constitution’s proscription of religious establishments and protection of the free exercise of religion, government must not interfere with the church and the church (institutionally) must not interfere with government.1 * Historian at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello. The author would like to thank Carl Bogus and the entire staff of Roger Williams University School of Law and the Roger Williams University Law Review for their excellent work on the conference (especially under the trying circumstances of conducting it virtually) and in preparing this important issue of the Law Review.