Important Church/State documents

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IMPORTANT SEPARATIONIST DOCUMENTS

In this section we look at some of the most important historical and modern documents that either (1) advocate on behalf of separationism, or that (2) clarify First Amendment Law with respect to religion. Some of these documents are off-site.

Historial separationist documents:

Jefferson's Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
Madison's Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments
Benjamin F. Underwood's The Practical Separation of Church and State

Recent documents on religious liberty:

Religion and the Public Schools: A Joint Statement of Current Law.
Bill Clinton's memorandum on Religious Expression in the Public Schools (based on the Joint Statement, above; linked from the First Amendment Cyber-Tribune website).
A Parent's Guide to Religion in the Public Schools (linked from the First Amendment Cyber-Tribune website).
Religious Holidays in the Public Schools: A Joint Statement Of Current Law, Questions and Answers (linked from the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs website).
[Editors' note: Although no longer available at the original link, this document is now available at several sites including http://www.ed.gov/Speeches/04-1995/prayer.html
A collection of Articles on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (linked from the Christian Science Committee on Publication website).
[Editors' note: As of October 26, 2001, this link which was located at http://northshore.shore.net/rf/rfratop.html is no longer available. It has apparently moved to http://www.religious-freedom.org/rfratop.html. The full text of the Act is also available.

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