Separation of church and state

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Separation of church and state is a principle that appears in the First amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which begins:

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

The phrase "separation of church and state" does not appear in the constitution. It was first coined by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to the Danbury Baptist Church, to explain the intended effect of this part of the first amendment.