Terri Fairley: No politics on church grounds

During church services on Sunday, an official pamphlet from one of the political campaigns was placed on the windshield of every car in my church’s parking lot. It does not matter which campaign it is or which church I attend (although I will say I attend a small Baptist congregation in North Raleigh).

The above activity is in contradiction of the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America which says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

This part of the First Amendment has been interpreted by the Supreme Court of the United States, and by usage, to mean separation of church and state. Additionally, the alignment of church with state was the reason many people left Europe in the first place, making the separation of the two one of the founding principles of this country.

This should prohibit the unsolicited placement of campaign material on church property.

This story was originally published November 1, 2016 at 8:34 PM with the headline "Terri Fairley: No politics on church grounds."