noun phrase
separation of church and state
sep-uh-RAY-shuhn uhv church uhnd STAYT
Separation of church and state (noun phrase) means the principle that government and organised religion should operate independently: the state neither establishes nor funds a religion nor interferes in worship, and religious bodies hold no formal governing power. Example: “Campaigners argued the funding scheme breached the separation of church and state.”
noun phrase
1
The principle that government and organised religion should operate independently: the state neither establishes nor funds a religion nor interferes in worship, and religious bodies hold no formal governing power.
"Campaigners argued the funding scheme breached the separation of church and state."
"Countries with a state church do not have a strict separation of church and state."
2
US, legal In American constitutional argument, the shorthand for what the First Amendment's Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses are held to require of government.
"The ruling was attacked as eroding the separation of church and state."
How to use separation of church and state
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe idea that government and religion should each stay out of the other's business.
When to use it
Neutral and formal; standard in legal, political and journalistic writing.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
breach the separation of church and state
strict separation of church and state
wall of separation
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Campaigners argued the funding scheme breached the _____.
Synonyms
View more →Antonyms
theocracy
established church
Related words
Rhymes for separation of church and state
See all rhymes for separation of church and state →Frequently asked questions
Is separation of church and state in the US Constitution?
Not as a phrase. The Constitution's First Amendment bars Congress from making any law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise, and courts have long read that as requiring separation. The wall of separation wording comes from Thomas Jefferson's later letter to the Danbury Baptists, not the text itself.
What is the difference between separation of church and state and secularism?
Separation of church and state is the specific institutional arrangement keeping government and religion apart. Secularism is the broader outlook that public life should be conducted on non-religious grounds, which some secularists extend well beyond what separation alone requires.
Does the United Kingdom have separation of church and state?
No. The Church of England is established, the monarch is its Supreme Governor, and bishops sit in the House of Lords. Britain is religiously plural in practice but not formally separated.
What is the meaning of separation of church and state?
"separation of church and state" (noun phrase) means the principle that government and organised religion should operate independently: the state neither establishes nor funds a religion nor interferes in worship, and religious bodies hold no formal governing power.
