This week, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) admitted that separation of church and state, as defined in the constitution, was meant to be a “one-way wall” where “church plays a role in the state.”
Gohmert says the U.S. House of Representatives used to meet at what is now the National Statuary Hall. He recalls, “On Sundays this became the largest non-denominational Christian church in the Washington, D.C. area,” he explained. “People came in here and prayed, they sang hymns, they worshipped God. It was part of our history.”
He says that even President Thomas Jefferson, the one who developed the phrase “separation of church and state,” was also in attendance at the church.
Gohmert explains, “But it was to be a one-way wall, where the state would not dictate to the church. But the church would certainly play a role in the state. So, that’s a little different idea than a lot of people have about separation of church and state now,” he added. “Including some of our esteemed Supreme Court, who are not quite as familiar with our history as they probably should be.”