Separation Of
Church And State
Is The Church's Job!

The misunderstanding comes from the fact that the Constitution does not use the phrase separation of church and state anywhere.  This idea arises from the First Amendment to the Constitution for the United States which says in part...

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...

That's is folks!  Congress cannot legislate what a religion is and establish it by law...and Congress cannot prohibit people from practicing their religion...however it is defined by them.

There are two things that are important to note here...,

First...there is nothing in the Constitution that prohibits religion from interfering in government and... Second...there is nothing in the Constitution that prohibits Congress from supporting religion (it just can't create one).

So much for the wall of separation of church and state (which is a phrase used by Thomas Jefferson in his private letters).

That's a very important question because it happens all the time. And it's perfectly legal.

Churches don't like government interference and sometimes object to it even in court...where they lose.

Here's how that happens...

The government interferes with religion only at the invitation of the churches...and with their consent.

That's right.  Under the First Amendment the people are free to associate and not to associate...they are free to associate by contracting with each other.

The churches open the Constitutional border that keeps government out by crossing the border to contract with the government (applying for social security...school vouchers...applying for tax exemption by submitting a 501c3 application...by a minister applying for a government license to conduct weddings in his or her own church...and so forth.)

Under such contracts there is no constitutional violation of separation of church and state.

This is not a boundary violation...it is a boundary obliteration...by the church...not the government.

It is well established in law that you have no grievance or complaint when you have given your consent.  And that consent is given by a church applying for some government benefit or privilege...which the government cannot force on it (such as a license to preside at a church wedding.)

And contracts are so sacred to the Constitution that it says Congress shall make "no law impairing the obligations of contracts" (Art 1 Sec. 10).

So...once a church  enters into a contract with the government...even the Constitution cannot interfere to save it from any dissatisfaction that may arise.  So claiming in court unconstitutional government interference in religion...after there is a contract in place...is a sure loser.

Churches must abide by any government rules or regulations under the agreement to which the churches gave their consent (by applying).

Anyone is free to contract away their constitutionally protected rights (an example would be...by applying for military service and consenting to be tried by courts martial instead of under the due process clauses of the Constitution).

But, what happens when the state and the church are one and the same?

This is precisely the case in catholic ministry because the Vatican is a sovereign country among the other nations of the world in addition to being the central location of the church.