wall of separation
Boundary between realms
Wall of separation refers to the principle that government and religion should remain distinct and not interfere with each other.
The phrase comes from Thomas Jefferson's 1802 letter describing the First Amendment as building "a wall of separation between Church and State." It's invoked in debates about prayer in schools, religious displays on public property, and government funding of religious institutions: The court ruled the policy violated the wall of separation.
- barrierObstruction preventing passage
- protective barrierStructure preventing harm access
- divideSeparate into parts
- churchPlace of Christian worship
- stateCondition or mode
church and state · boundary · partition · Jefferson · constitutional · founding fathers · Thomas Jefferson · religious freedom · fence · keep out · border · brick · brick and mortar · stone · fortress · secularism · freedom · religion
wall of separationbridge
Structure spanning an obstacle
connection · link · bond · pathway · conduit
wall of separationtheocracy
Rule by religious authority
state religion · established church · religious establishment · divine right of kings · divine right
wall of separationopen channel
Uncovered water conveyance
osmosis · gray area · overlap · intermingling
wall, walls, walled, walling, wallpaper, of, off, separation, separate