Steven Waldman’s newly released book, Sacred Liberty: America’s Long, Bloody, and Ongoing Struggle for Religious Freedom, is a sweeping account of religious liberty and religious persecution in the United States from the 16th century to the modern day.

The framers of the Constitution believed that houses of worship should not receive tax dollars. They didn’t feel this way because they were hostile to religion – far from it. The Founding Fathers understood that faith communities prosper when voluntarily supported by members.

Presidents Day is good time to remember that many of our presidents have strongly supported church-state separation, recognized its fundamental value and said great things about it.