Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) said she is “tired” of the separation between church and state and believes that the church should play a larger role in the United States government.
“The church is suppose to direct the government. The government is not suppose to direct the church,” Boebert said during a speech at the Cornerstone Christian Center. She also falsely claimed a separation between the church and government was not what the Founding Fathers intended.
“I’m tired of this separation of church and state junk — that’s not in the Constitution. It was in a stinking letter and it means nothing like they say it does,” Boebert said as the audience applauded.
The phrase “separation of church and State” comes from a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association written by Thomas Jefferson in 1802. In the letter Jefferson wrote that the American public had built “a wall of separation between Church and State” when they adopted the establishment clause of the First Amendment, which says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
States have adhered to this principle since the letter. However, the current conservative majority on the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of religion in public spaces in a number of cases in recent years. The most recent case was last week when they sided with a high school football coach who prayed at the midline after public school games.
Boebert appears to be emboldened by the outcome of these cases before the conservative high court. She has drawn criticism during her one term in office for her extreme views on issues like religion and guns.
She faces a GOP primary challenge from state Sen. Don Coram on Tuesday.
