What does "Separation of Church and State" mean?

[Mister Agenda]

Madison seemed to be under the impression that he had written it into the Constitution (italics mine):

"Ye States of America, which retain in your Constitution or Codes, any aberration from the sacred principle of religious liberty, by giving to Caesar what belongs to God, or joining together what God has put asunder, hasten to revise & purify your systems, and make the example of your Country as pure & compleat, in what relates to the freedom of the mind and its allegiance to its maker, as in what belongs to the legitimate objects of political & civil institutions. Strongly guarded as is the separation between Religion & Govt. in the Constitution of the United States the danger of encroachment by Ecclesiastical Bodies, may be illustrated by precedents already furnished in their short history."--James Madison; "Detached Memoranda," date of authorship unknown, estimated between 1817 and 1832

Not hip to quotes huh?


Something like,  sorta the same or almost are not quotes.

The exact words in the exact order is a quote.


Capice?

To clarify -
"Separation of Church and State"  is NOT in the Constitution.

Separation of Church and State is.

So if it said 'wall between religion and government' in the Constitution; you'd still be going on about how it doesn't actually say 'separation of church and state'?

If so, why should I care about such petty semantics?