The No Religious Test Clause. Before the First Amendment was even drafted, the Founding Fathers specifically wrote into the founding document of the United States of America the position of the majority of the American people regarding separation between religion and government. In America, religion is to be freely accepted, not imposed by law. Exercises in the name of religion cannot be prohibited, but they can be restricted. In America, civil law prevails, not ecclesiastical law or religious opinion.
Religion is a matter of opinion.
In contrast to history revisionists, strict constructionists are persuaded that the drafters of the religion clauses were consistent, understood proper grammar, wrote exactly what they meant, and meant exactly what they wrote.