What Would Jefferson Do?
During the fiercely contested Presidential election won by Thomas Jefferson, Federalist opposition (with John Adams running) vilifies Jefferson as an atheist - framing the major contentious issue for the election. Yet the Danbury and Cheshire Baptists celebrate Jefferson's election as bringing the standard barrier of Religious Freedom to the Presidency. You see, in those days, state (not national) sponsored established Religion discriminated against the Baptists, the Quakers, and other non-establishment free spirits.
See the Sidebar references to the Danbury Baptists' letter to Jefferson and Jefferson's response to the Danbury Baptists - where "building a wall of separation between Church & State" becomes a foundation for religious AND non-religious liberty within the Leading Democracy of the Free World.
The Mammoth Cheese story is so typically American that one would be remiss in failing to include this story.
Interestingly, the first Supreme Court case using the "separation between Church and State" doctrine involves a Mormon claiming that his religion commands him to enter into a polygamous marriage. The Court held that the laws of the state involving actions, rather than just religious conviction (as distinguished by Jefferson in the Danbury letter), have been deeply rooted in the Common Law tradition - thus actions have precedent over beliefs.
The commentary by James Hutson,chief curator of the Library of Congress, accompanied an exhibit of the original draft and the final version of Jefferson's Danbury letter. It finds inclusion in the Sidebar because it is interesting and contains a great deal of historical detail.