Quote from rcanfiel:
separation of church and state was not the point of the original statements. It was:
"Congress shall pass no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
In other words, this item in the Bill of Rights was to prevent the govt from interfering with the practice of religion, which is was we have now. It was not supposed to be an exercise in having the ACLU stamp out any kind of expression of religion, such as menorahs, creches, mentions of God in coins, etc.
What has happened in reality, is Congress separating people from their right to practice their religion, because atheists and other groups become "offended" and sue to have its practice stamped out in any possible way.
I am no Ron Paul fan, but trying to close eyes to the fact that this originally was and presently is a predominantly Christian country, speaking English, and practicing capitalism/democracy, doesn't change the reality.