The rationale for a written constitution, we are told, is two-fold. In the first place, it serves to confine the activities of the federal government to certain broad areas of public policy, these areas are outlined in Article 1, Section 8.
Religion is the subject of two specific provisions in the Constitution.
This provision complements the public-private distinction which is essential to the idea of limited government. Religion is recognized as being in the personal sphere and therefore not subject to governmental regulation. This is an unequivocal statement that religion, or lack of it, should never be made an issue in our elections. It is a warning that we should take seriously. The idea that we are or should be a Christian or religious people does not automatically translate into the corollary that we are or should be a Christian or religious nation.