Separation of church and state

"The separation of church and state is a concept and philosophy in modern thought and practice, whereby the structures of state or national government are proposed as needing to be separate from those of religious institutions. The concept has long been a topic of political debate throughout history." -- Wikipedia

This is a growing seedling article. You can help Issuepedia by watering it.

This separation has become of particular interest lately in the United States, in that there has been a strong cultural movement to "include [the Christian] God" in daily life, and to "put God back" into various arenas from which religion had generally been excluded.

Reference

• Wikipedia

Links

• why the mail is no longer delivered on Sunday by Susan Jacoby: some history on separation of church and state in the US; highlights and commentary by Arthur Silber

Points for Discussion

• How is it bad if God is excluded? How is it bad if God is included? Does "including God" include all religions, or are some disqualified as being pagan, heathen, etc.?