{"id":2591008,"date":"2026-04-15T09:41:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T13:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-lt-gov-says-truth-even-most-pastors-dont-dare-there-is-no-separation-of-church-and-state-in-the-constitution\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T09:43:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T13:43:43","slug":"texas-lt-gov-says-truth-even-most-pastors-dont-dare-there-is-no-separation-of-church-and-state-in-the-constitution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-lt-gov-says-truth-even-most-pastors-dont-dare-there-is-no-separation-of-church-and-state-in-the-constitution\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Lt. Gov. Says Truth Even Most Pastors Don&#8217;t Dare: There Is No &#8216;Separation of Church and State&#8217; in the Constitution"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">42<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftexas-lt-gov-says-truth-even-most-pastors-dont-dare-there-is-no-separation-of-church-and-state-in-the-constitution%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2591008&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Texas Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick argues that the Constitution does not contain a requirement for a strict \u201cseparation of church and state,\u201d challenging a common secular interpretation. He chairs the Religious Liberty Commission, created by President Trump, which is tasked with advising the White House Faith Office and the Domestic Policy Council on <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" ><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-calls-new-yorks-covid-19-restrictions-discriminatory-sides-with-religious-leaders\/\" title=\"Supreme Court Calls New York\u2019s COVID-19 Restrictions \u2018Discriminatory,\u2019 Sides With Religious Leaders\">religious liberty<\/a> policies<\/a> and identifying steps to protect and promote religious liberty both domestically and worldwide.<\/p>\n<p>Patrick contends that the phrase frequently enough cited to justify walling off religion from goverment is not in the Constitution. He points to President Thomas Jefferson\u2019s Danbury baptist letter, in which Jefferson described a \u201cwall of separation\u201d between church and state, as the source of the idea, while noting that the First Amendment\u2019s text itself addresses establishment and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of ...\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">free exercise<\/a>. The article explains that over time interpretations have expanded to limit religion in government affairs, despite the Constitution\u2019s actual wording.<\/p>\n<p>The piece cites sources like KRIV and authorities such as Stand to Reason and Hillsdale College to illustrate debates about the founders\u2019 faith and the purpose of the Constitution.The commission\u2019s topics under consideration <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-makes-controversial-statements-in-prepared-remarks-to-congress\/\" title=\"Biden Makes Controversial ...ments In Prepared Remarks To Congress\">include attacks<\/a> on houses of worship, debanking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pro-trump-religious-groups-begin-turning-up-heat-on-gop-to-take-action-on-marjorie-taylor-greene\/\" title=\"Pro-Trump, Religious Groups Begin Turning Up Heat On GOP To Take Action On Marjorie Taylor Greene\">religious organizations<\/a>, parental rights in religious education, voluntary prayer in schools, and government displays with religious imagery.Patrick argues there is no reason to remain inactive and that faith should not be suppressed in the contry\u2019s institutions.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Texas Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick decided to correct a common misconception secular America has about the Constitution &mdash; there&rsquo;s nothing in it about a &ldquo;separation of church and state.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>As noted by a report from&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox26houston.com\/news\/texas-dan-patrick-no-separation-church-state-constitution\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">KRIV<\/a> on Tuesday, Patrick chairs the new Religious Liberty Commission which was created by President Donald Trump via executive order last May. Per its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/religious-liberty-commission#what\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">mission statement<\/a> on the Justice Department&rsquo;s website, the commission works &ldquo;to advise the White House Faith Office and the Domestic Policy Council on religious liberty policies of the United States, including by recommending steps to secure domestic religious liberty and identifying opportunities to further the cause of religious liberty around the world.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Patrick, predicting the criticism leveled at the creation of such a commission, debunked the claim that the Constitution mandates church and state be kept apart.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;For too long, the anti-God left has used this phrase to suppress people of religion in our country,&rdquo; he said, per KRIV.<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s astoundingly easy to discover what the Constitution actually says on the matter.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); 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\t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/constitution.congress.gov\/constitution\/amendment-1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">First Amendment<\/a> reads, &ldquo;Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Where is the left getting the &ldquo;separation of church and state&rdquo; notion?<\/p>\n<p>The source is President Thomas Jefferson&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/loc\/lcib\/9806\/danpre.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">letter to the Danbury Baptists<\/a> in Connecticut dated Jan. 1, 1802, where he said, &nbsp;&ldquo;I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should &lsquo;make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,&rsquo; thus building a wall of separation between Church &amp; State.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Jefferson proceeded to quote the First Amendment, but then gave his own interpretation, the key word being &ldquo;thus&rdquo; before opining on that phrase.<\/p>\n<p>While it&rsquo;s a phrase from one specific founding father, it&rsquo;s not a phrase that&rsquo;s actually in the Constitution.<\/p>\n<p>Over the years, the First Amendment has been contorted to mean a prohibition on religion anywhere in governmental affairs, promoting the myth that our nation&rsquo;s founding was a secular one.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.str.org\/w\/what-was-the-faith-of-our-founding-fathers-\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stand to Reason<\/a> totals the number of delegates at the Constitutional Convention identifying as Christian at 51 out of 55, with one unknown and three deists.<\/p>\n<p>Per <a href=\"https:\/\/onlinecoursesblog.hillsdale.edu\/our-constitution-was-made-only-for-a-moral-and-religious-people\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hillsdale College<\/a>, former President John Adams wrote to the Massachusetts Militia in October 1798, saying, &ldquo;Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>This shows how a God-fearing people have unfortunately slowly conceded to the left, but have no basis to surrender.<\/p>\n<p>Topics that the commission is considering include attacks on houses of worship, debanking of religious organizations, parental rights with religious education, voluntary prayer in schools, and government displays with religious imagery.<\/p>\n<p>Patrick recognized that his hands are not tied. There&rsquo;s no reason to sit idly by and let faith be suppressed in a country that never intended for it to be.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a concise paraphrase of the main points:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick argues that the Constitution does not contain a \u201cseparation of church and state\u201d clause, countering a common secular interpretation. He leads the Religious Liberty Commission, created by a Trump administration executive order, which is meant to advise the White House Faith Office and the Domestic Policy Council on religious-liberty policies and to promote religious liberty at home and abroad.<br \/>\n&#8211; Patrick contends that critics use the idea of separation to suppress religion, and he suggests it\u2019s easy to see what the Constitution actually says on this issue.<br \/>\n&#8211; The piece explains the First Amendment\u2019s actual text, which barring the establishment of religion and protecting free exercise, rather than enforcing a broad ban on religion in government.<br \/>\n&#8211; It notes that the popular idea of a \u201cwall of separation\u201d comes from Thomas Jefferson\u2019s 1802 Danbury Baptists letter, not from the Constitution itself. While Jefferson referenced the First Amendment, his interpretation is not the document\u2019s wording.<br \/>\n&#8211; The article cites historical figures who were largely Christian among the Founders, including claims about the religious character of the Constitution\u2019s supporters, and mentions Adams\u2019s assertion that the Constitution was made for a moral and religious people.<br \/>\n&#8211; The Religious Liberty Commission is considering issues such as attacks on houses of worship, the debanking of religious organizations, parental rights in religious education, voluntary school prayer, and displaying religious imagery in government.<br \/>\n&#8211; Patrick asserts that there is no constitutional constraint preventing faith from being expressed or protected in American life, and he argues against remaining passive while faith is challenged in the country<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2591009,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-04-15T091627.486.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[77807,33332,60909,32581,37104],"class_list":["post-2591008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-constitutional-interpretation","tag-first-amendment","tag-lt-governor","tag-separation-of-church-and-state","tag-texas-politics"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-04-15T091627.486.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2591008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2591008"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2591008\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2591012,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2591008\/revisions\/2591012"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2591009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2591008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2591008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2591008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}