Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State

No phrase in American letters than Thomas Jefferson's phrase, "wall of separation between church and state," has had a more profound influence on church-state law, policy, and discourse and few metaphors have provoked more passionate debate. Introduced in an 1802 letter to the Danbury, Connecticut Baptist Association, Jefferson's "wall" is accepted by many Americans as a concise description of the U.S. Constitution's church-state arrangement and conceived as a virtual rule of constitutional law. Dreisbach offers an in-depth examination of the origins, controversial uses, and competing interpretations of this powerful metaphor in law and public policy. - from publisher information.