Absolute separation of church and state has never occurred. The idea began under Roger Williams, who founded the colony of Rhode Island. The current rule prohibits Establishment of Religion which...
Martin Luther, Anabaptists, Baptists, Mennonites, Thomas Helwys, Leonard Buscher, John Locke, Leo Tolstoy, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison Voltaire, to name a few.
In the United States the First Amendment to the Constitution states that there should be no establishment of religion-- Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or...