I'm not a Constititional lawyer so when I read some of the posts mentioning separation of church and state I believe things get confusing when I read....

The separation of church and state is a legal and political principle derived from the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . ." The phrase "separation of church and state", which does not appear in the Constitution itself, is generally traced to an 1802 letter by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists, where Jefferson spoke of the combined effect of the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment."

So I don't get it, when separation of church and state is cited as reason for being against something like a Cross on a license plate, and the free exercise part of the Amendment is never mentioned. I believe the intent was to prevent the establishment of a Government favored religion and not to prevent the free exercise.

Wonder how Candidate Barrack Obama, a Consitutional Lawyer would respond to this issue?