10 Misconceptions About Separation Of Church And State In The US One of the most contentious issues in a modern democracy like the United States is the wall of separation between the church and the state. In the US, this phrase is used incorrectly by many as they either assert their religious beliefs on the public or fear that those same beliefs are being threatened by the government. Like any judicial precedence, it is vastly misunderstood. 10 It’s In The Constitution “Separation between church and state” is not in the US Constitution. The First Amendment’s Establishment Clause reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The first mention of the phrase came in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut in January 1802: “[ . . . ] 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.”