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/* Background - GOD, The Constitution, and Political Parties */
Despite their own beliefs however, the [[Founding Fathers]] specifically placed into the [[First Amendment]] to the [[U.S. Constitution]] a statement that the government cannot interfere in the conduct of religious groups, and grants "Freedom of Religion" for all faiths. That statement is often referred to as the [[Free Exercise Clause]]."
This [[Free Exercise Clause]] of the First Amendment to the [[US Constitution]] began increasingly to be tested and interpreted by the [[judiciary]] in the late 19th century as a result of the increasing population of religious [[minorities]] in the United States.
The various differences and contradictions between the founding documents such as the "Declaration of Independence", the US Constitution", the "[[Federalist Papers]]", and the many personal papers of the [[Founding Fathers]] has not helped to resolve the issue.
This is important to understand, as in recent decades, the [[US Supreme Court]] has re-interpreted this clause to represent an actual, "physical separation" of Religion from Government. This "separation of Church and State" interpretation has become a continuing source of conflict in American society.
