A proper enforcement of separation of church and state would be impossible without the 14th Amendment, the 150th anniversary of which was celebrated on July 28.

All Americans should be equal in the eyes of the government, yet the Christian nation concept sends the message that there is a “true” religion – Christianity – and all other beliefs are merely tolerated, at best. Adherents of these “lesser” belief systems are told that they are second-class citizens, that they are little more than guests in their own nation.

America has a foundational document – the Constitution and its Bill of Rights. The story of how our nation got that document (which, by the way, is secular) and the story of how we went from a small band of theocratic settlers in Massachusetts to a country that celebrates religious freedom for all is a fascinating one.