The concept of separation of church and state is fundamental to American identity; it is etched deeply into our communal disposition and present in our national documents. The Constitution and its first amendment rights affect our interaction with theocratic governments around the world, our interaction with each other nationally, and our entitlement to free speech and religious practice. One might assume that this language was developed on the eve of the Revolution as a way to rein in the power of a federal government, but it was in fact in the 17th Century colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations that a separation-of-church-and-state policy was first introduced to American life. Ahlquist v. Cranston, a Supreme Court case in 2012, has recently brought the little state of Rhode Island back into the debate over the meaning of this concept by questioning the right of a high school in Cranston to exhibit a prayer banner in its auditorium.
Enshrined Ideals: Rhode Island's Charter in Theory & Practice, from Birth to Statehood
