NOTE: This piece was originally published at our newsletter A Public Witness.
“The separation of church and state is not in the Constitution.”
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick made this declaration while standing behind President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on June 26. Patrick was there as head of Trump’s so-called “Religious Liberty Commission” while the group delivered its draft report. Others from the commission standing with him included rightwing figures like Trump spiritual advisor Paul White-Cain, Catholic Bishop Robert Barron, Ben Carson, and Dr. Phil.
Patrick thinks his argument against church-state separation is really clever, because he likes to repeat it. But it’s actually quite stupid. While the exact phrase cannot be found in the Constitution, that doesn’t mean it’s not a constitutional principle. You also won’t find the phrase “religious liberty” in the document either, but it’s clearly a constitutional precept. Surely the chair of the so-called “Religious Liberty Commission” doesn’t believe “religious liberty” is not a constitutional concept. Similarly, you won’t find the word “trinity” in the Bible, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a biblical doctrine.
Like with “religious liberty,” understanding how the phrase “separation of church and state” explains constitutional provisions such as Article VI and the First Amendment requires the ability to move from kindergarten-level rote copying of letters and words to understanding concepts and how to describe them in other ways. And this shouldn’t be hard. Because when Thomas Jefferson used his famous phrase about church-state separation, he explicitly spelled out in his letter to Baptists in Connecticut exactly why he saw that phrase as a way of describing what the Constitution does.
“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church & State,” Jefferson wrote.
He literally quoted the First Amendment and then said that those words thus built the wall. So, yes, while the exact phrase is not there, the separation of church and state is very much in the Constitution. Anyone who says otherwise shouldn’t be trusted on issues of religious liberty, public policy, or English comprehension.
President Donald Trump holds up a copy of the Religious Liberty Commission’s draft report as (from left) Ben Carson, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Phil McGraw, and Ryan T. Anderson look on in the Oval Office of the White House on June 26, 2026. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Associated Press)
The comment by Patrick attacking church-state separation should give you a pretty good indication of how bad the 224-page draft report is and the danger of its recommendations they want the Trump administration to implement. The commission called for an end to the IRS’s political campaign activity ban (also often called “the Johnson Amendment”) so that houses of worship can engage in partisan campaign activity (and even become channels for funneling dark money through a tax-exempt entity). The commission called for more public funding of private sectarian schools and more pushing of Christianity in public schools. The commission backed anti-vaxxers and called for more religious exemptions to pretty much any rule rightwing Christians don’t like. And the commission pushed other Christian Nationalist ideas.
Our Turn
The commission Patrick leads is now receiving public comments that they will review before issuing their final report. While they will not repent of their Christian Nationalism (since the commission was problematically stacked without diversity), it can still be an important sign of how unpopular their agenda is if they are swamped with public comments opposing the recommendations in the report. That’s why groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State (where I serve as vice chair of the national board of trustees) and Interfaith Alliance haven’t just sued the commission for not following federal law but are also now urging people to offer a public comment.
So let me also encourage you to take a few minutes to write a comment in opposition to the report and its recommendations. It’s a simple thing you can do to speak out against Christian Nationalism and speak up for church-state separation.
All you have to do is send an email to RLC@usdoj.gov before Monday, July 13. But don’t wait until then — just go ahead and do it today. Remember that this is a public comment, so don’t add personal information like your address or phone number. For the subject line of the email, write this: Public Comment – [Topic] – [Your Name]. For topic, you can just write “Religious Liberty Commission Report” for a broad message or you can pick a specific chapter topic from the draft report to focus on.
Your message can be a couple sentences or a few paragraphs. But I would encourage you to incorporate some points like:
- The separation of church and state is good for both. It’s a constitutional principle that explains how our religious liberty is protected by the First Amendment.
- The Johnson Amendment protects houses of worship from partisan politicking and ensures fair play in our campaigns.
- Public funds should go to public schools, not private schools.
- Public schools should not be pushing sectarian faith, like forcing the posting of the Ten Commandments or pushing official prayer.
- Institutions receiving public funding should not be allowed to discriminate against individuals but instead should treat all people fairly and equally.
It’s that simple. Just send an email today (or very soon) highlighting one or more of those points in your own words. It’s a small thing, but let’s make sure they know their Christian Nationalist ideas are unpopular. Let’s not embolden them with our silence.
As a public witness,
Brian Kaylor
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