Ken Buck Doesn’t Like The Idea Of Separating Church And State

Doug Mataconis · · 19 comments

Move over Christine O’Donnell, Colorado’s Ken Buck not only doesn’t think “separation of church and state” is in the Constitution, he doesn’t think it should exist:

WASHINGTON — Colorado Republican Senate candidate and Tea Party favorite Ken Buck last year said he “strongly” disagrees with one of the bedrock principles of American society: the separation of church and state. “I disagree strongly with the concept of separation of church and state,” said Buck at a forum for GOP Senate candidates last year. “It was not written into the Constitution. While we have a Constitution that is very strong in the sense that we are not gonna have a religion that’s sanctioned by the government, it doesn’t mean that we need to have a separation between government and religion. And so that, that concerns me a great deal.” In his statement, he also criticized President Obama for calling the White House Christmas tree a “holiday tree.”

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While Buck (and O’Donnell) are correct that the phrase “separation of church and state” does not appear in the Bill of Rights, the clear import of Supreme Court precedent stretching back more than a century is that government establishment or endorsement of religious belief is impermissible under the First Amendment. That is what is meant by “separation of church and state,” and the fact that Republicans like Buck and O’Donnell don’t endorse that idea is troubling to say the least.