Found a great essay online this morning at the carolinianonline website written by Jamie Freeze.  Imagin something like this coming out of a university these days.  I've pasted the essay in its entirety below.  Great reading...ENJOY!

Pop Quiz: Tell me where the phrase "separation of church and state" is found. How many of you guessed the Constitution? Many people are surprised to learn that the phrase "separation of church and state" is not found anywhere in the Constitution. They are surprised because the phrase is often bandied about these days. Want to say a prayer at a football game? No way…there is a separation of church and state. Want to wear a religious T-shirt to school? Sorry, there is a separation of church and state. Want to display the Ten Commandments in a court of law? You can't because of separation of church and state. If this phrase is nowhere to be found in the highest law of the land (the Constitution) then why is it cited when a town wants to display a nativity scene?

Many legal scholars would tell you that the First Amendment prohibits the mixing of church and state, but I beg to differ. The First Amendment, which guarantees all American citizens the freedoms of speech, religion, press, petition and assembly, has this to say about religious practice: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…" The government cannot mandate a religious practice, nor can they forbid religious practice. Unfortunately, in the last 60 years we have seen many judicial rulings that reveal a desire to uphold the establishment clause of the First Amendment at the expense of the free exercise clause. This is a smack in the face to the idea of the First Amendment and a violation of it as well.

For those of you who are still wondering where the phrase "separation of church and state" is found, it was found in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danville Baptist Association in Virginia in 1802. This letter was used in a 1947 Supreme Court ruling (Everson v. Board of Education) to justify the invention of the court's "constitutional duty" to separate church and state. The Supreme Court actually had the guts to use a letter written by one of the foremost champions of liberty to restrict liberty. Where is the outrage that the Supreme Court would use a letter to decide constitutional law? Maybe it's just me, but I thought you should use the Constitution to decide constitutional law. But what do I know, right?

It took the Supreme Court almost 40 years to see the error of its ways. In 1984, they held in Lynch v. Donnelly that the phrase in Jefferson's letter was a "euphemism," not constitutional law. But, alas, the damage had already been done. References to the Judeo-Christian God and religion were systematically struck from our schools and our towns. Today, if a court wants to display the Ten Commandments (which contain really good advice for criminals) they will probably be faced with a lawsuit brought by the ACLU. Today, if a child brings a banned book (the Bible) to school, he will be suspended. Yes. It actually happens. Today, if a store clerk wants to say "Merry Christmas" they are told to say "Happy Holidays" in order not to offend someone. Today if a teacher dares to pray, he or she will be fired. God forbid someone freely exercises his or her religion… at least if it is the Christian faith.

Don't get me wrong. I am all for religious tolerance. After all, our country was founded to be a haven for the religious oppressed and persecuted. However, G.K. Chesterton said it best when he said, "These are the days when a Christian is expected to praise every creed except his own." I would argue that it is a double standard to prohibit a child from reading a Bible in a classroom while a teacher leads the class in recitations of the Koran. I have no problem with children learning about other religions. However, I do have a problem with double standards. However, it seems that our country is obsessed with obliterating references to the Judeo-Christian faith while insisting that other religions be recognized. If you want to practice Hinduism, Taoism, Islam, atheism, etc. that is fine. I don't care. But why is it necessary to erase our country's history in order to do it? I don't know how displaying the Ten Commandments in a courthouse interferes with anyone's religion. I don't see how a child reading the Bible interferes with anyone's religion. Where is the tolerance?

I know many people believe that if government-run institutions like schools and courthouses have Judeo-Christian references then it automatically means that the government is establishing a religion. However, the Constitution says that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. If Congress were to make Christianity the official religion of America, they'd be violating the Constitution. However, by infringing on the free exercise of people's religion, they are violating the Constitution. In an effort to preserve a constitutional right, we've destroyed one. In an effort to promote diversity and tolerance, we've done the exact opposite-we've stifled the expression of Christianity. You may feel that I am over-exaggerating the problem, but trust me-it's quite real and quite big. All I ask is that we return to the framer's intent of the Constitution's First Amendment-to extend liberty to all American citizens.