Many Christians today believe that Church and State separation is a founding Christian principle. For example, Jesus was born into an almost totally theocratic society. Jesus and his apostles and disciples could have easily incorporated much or most of the theocratic elements of Judaism into Christianity, but they did not, as is clearly evidenced from the New Testament scriptures and the known history of the first two hundred years of Christianity. Thus, separation of church and state can be said to be one of Christianity’s founding principles.

When Christianity became the semi-official religion of the Roman Empire in the early 300’s, it marked the beginning of the persecution of Christians by other Christians. Christians in Europe and Asia called Novations and also Donatists who lived in North Africa were the first victims of a Christian –State union. These early Christians were persecuted over the issue of church governance. The victims of the persecution believed this new Church-State union or rapprochement was intended to serve the interests of the state and a few ambitious churchmen, not God.

As a result of a continuing series of abuses carried out by various Church-State unions in Europe, in 1457 the Moravians in Bohemia denounced all unions of church and state.

In the year 1524, Anabaptists in Zurich advocated the practice of the separation of church and state.

In 1631 in America, Roger Williams advocated that the Puritans “separate church from state in their colony.”

Until only recently, the separation of church and state was considered a vital and non-negotiable principle of the Baptist denomination, which traces their roots back to the apostolic age. According to the Southern Baptist Statement of Faith which can be found on their website, “Church and State should be separate.”

The Bible is the constitution of Christianity. It is illogical when political conservatives who believe in a “strict constructionalist” interpretation of the U.S. Constitution fail to employ that same principle in religion, and neglect or ignore the beliefs and principles of the founders of Christianity as revealed in the Bible.

These are only a few of many examples of the practice of the concept of the separation of church and state predating Jefferson, the Founding Fathers and the Constitution. Email jmcmeans@negia.net if you wish to read a copy of a longer article on the subject with more historical examples of Christians who believed the separation of church and state was one of the founding principles of Christianity.