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

Is Thomas Jefferson important in 20/21 th century USA?
I always see united statians quoting these oldies.
Thomas Jefferson time is over. He died. His family and friends died as well a long time ago.

Decide for yourself what kind of a world you want to live in. Decide for yourself if you want a separation of church and state. Discuss the benefits and losses instead of quoting what some guy from another century has said.

PS: I'm in Canada. I've never seen anyone quote some canadian politician from long ago when it comes to deciding on important questions of today.

--Ferrocyanide

The process of changing the US Constitution is complex and difficult. The Supreme Court has long turned to the writings of the founders, particularly Madison and Jefferson who were the chief architects of the Constitution, to determine their intent when composing and ratifying the Constitution. If they explained what they meant by a particular portion of the Constitution, the SC has set precedents for using those explanations to interpret those portions rather than relying on naïve literalism. If the result is compatible with how Americans really want the country to be run; no need to go through the process of amending the Constitution (which might still fail even if a majority of Americans favor the change) over matters of semantics. Quoting Jefferson and Madison is certainly relevant when questions come up about the intent of our Constitution, the document which, at least in theory, governs all of our laws.