Religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church and State. [View a draft of Jefferson's
             In the battleground to find the true meaning of the "wall of separation between Church and State" it is useful to consider the actions of the founders after the First Amendment was passed. A review of a sampling of their activities makes it is clear that the founders had no intention of neutralizing government from all religious reference:
             • The House of Representatives called for a national day of prayer and thanksgiving on September 24, 1789-the same day that it passed the First Amendment.
             • On the very day Jefferson sent his letter to the Danbury Baptists he was making plans to attend church services in the House of Representatives.
             The Ten Commandments are inscribed on the wall of the United States Supreme Court.
             Every president has invoked God's name in a prayerful manner in his inaugural address
             Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports...And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion...reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government.
             -George Washington, Farewell Address to the United States, 1796
             In his first week in office, President Bush announced the creation of a new White ...