Church-state separation actually ensures our vibrant religious landscape and in no way strips the public square of talk about religion and matters of faith. Church-state separation simply requires that official government action have a secular purpose and have the primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion.

Governor Romney should also understand that “secular” is not a bad word. While our culture need not be secular, our government must be – not in the sense of being hostile to religion, but being religiously neutral. Government must not be allowed to meddle in religion, for or against, or take sides in religious disputes, favoring one religion over another. As soon as it does, it denies someone’s religious liberty.

Finally, I wish Governor Romney – in the spirit of the religious test provision and the religion clauses of the First Amendment – had affirmed the rights and full citizenship standing of nonbelievers. They do not have the right to strip the public square of talk about religion or ban religious values from political discourse. But they do have the similar right to participate in public debates and, like all Americans, the right to be free from state-sponsored religion.