Protecting the constitutional principle of the separation of state and church
Freethought Radio

What Do You Know About The
Separation of State and Church?


1. The U.S. Constitution says that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, based on the sovereign authority of God

  1. in the First Amendment
  2. in Section VI
  3. in the Preamble
  4. nowhere

2. How many times does the word "God" appear in the U.S. Constitution?

  1. 0
  2. 1
  3. 3
  4. 6

3. How many times does the Declaration of Independence refer to Christianity or Jesus?

  1. 0
  2. 1
  3. 3
  4. 8

4. The US Constitution guarantees religious liberty for

  1. Christians
  2. all religions
  3. atheists & agnostics
  4. all of the above

5. Where did the separation of church and state originate?

  1. France
  2. Soviet Union
  3. United States of America
  4. Nazi Germany

6. What does the First Amendment say about religion?

  1. nothing
  2. the US is founded upon Christian principles
  3. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting free exercise
  4. that there is no national religion, but each state may set up its own religious practices

7. The phrase "wall of separation between church and state" originated with

  1. the Soviet constitution
  2. a dissenting opinion by former Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter
  3. a letter written by President Thomas Jefferson
  4. a speech by President Ulysses S. Grant

8. Which early colonies practiced freedom of religion?

  1. the Pilgrims and Puritans in Massachusetts
  2. the colony in Virginia
  3. Roger Williams' Providence settlement
  4. all of them

9. The Puritans escaped religious persecution and, in their own colony, allowed religious freedom for

  1. everyone
  2. all Christians
  3. Puritans only
  4. Puritans and Anglicans

10. ". . . the government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; . . ."

Where does this phrase appear?

  1. The U.S. Communist party platform
  2. A speech by Abraham Lincoln
  3. American Jewish Congress
  4. U.S. treaty signed by President Adams

11. By an Act of Congress, U.S. currency has carried the motto "In God We Trust" since

  1. the very beginning
  2. 1862
  3. 1914
  4. 1957

12. The Pledge of Allegiance, first published in 1892, has included the words "under God" since

  1. 1892
  2. 1914
  3. 1942
  4. 1954

13. Who made the following statement?

"Secular schools can never be tolerated because such a school has no religious instruction and a general moral instruction without a religious foundation is built on air; consequently, all character training and religion must be derived from faith . . . We need believing people."

  1. Pat Robertson
  2. Abraham Lincoln
  3. Adolf Hitler
  4. Rev. Jerry Falwell

14. In 1890, bible reading was outlawed from Wisconsin schools. Who was responsible?

  1. a Lutheran family
  2. a Roman Catholic family
  3. an atheist family
  4. a Jewish family

15. The U.S. Supreme Court outlawed student-initiated prayers at high-school football games in 2000. Who were the plaintiffs in that lawsuit?

  1. Roman Catholic and Mormon families
  2. two Jewish families
  3. a Unitarian (agnostic) family
  4. an atheist organization

16. According to the "Lemon test," in order to be constitutional, a law or public act must:

  1. have a secular purpose
  2. have a primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion
  3. not result in excessive governmental entanglement with religion
  4. all of the above

17. All American Presidents have been practicing Christians

True False

18. The U.S. Constitution says there shall be no religious test for public office

True False

19. John Adams declared Christmas to be a national holiday

True False

20. A president, being sworn in, is required to place a hand on the Holy Bible and say "so help me, God."

True False

21. Since the First Amendment deals with "Congress," states are free to advance religion if they wish.

True False

(Unanswered questions will be counted wrong.)

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