Separation of Church and State

So i decided to write the school paper and here's what i wrote:

When glancing over the fun page in the January 2006 edition of The Voyager, the first crossword puzzle caught my attention. I figured the "Darwin v. Intelligent Design," topic would be amusing to attempt. After easily completing two across, which asked the title of the fall play, I moved onto four across. This read, "this amendment requires the separation of church and state." Typically I just let the shots from the left slip under the radar; they were not that lucky this time.

Now the answer that fit the puzzle was the "First" Amendment. Millions of people believe that the First Amendment requires the Separation of Church and State. This is the biggest misconception plaguing Americans today. I guarantee that if one were to poll the students of Eastern Regional High School, and shockingly, the teachers, and asked whether the constitution provides for the "Separation of Church and State," one would be baffled at the response. Unfortunately, people just assume it does so. Well let us look at what the first amendment states. It states that:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The first phrase simply states that Congress is not permitted to make laws respecting the establishment of religion. Not once does the word "separation" or "church" appear. Call me an originalist, but if the two words that serve as the foundation to an entire political party’s argument aren’t even in the United States Constitution, how effective can that argument be? Now if the topic were different, and the Constitution required a re-evaluation by the people to determine an issues constitutionality, such as whether or not a penalty is cruel and unusual (Roper v. Simmons 2005), then there is room for interpretation and application. However, when the Constitution simply states a restriction on Congress, its application should be determined by the framer’s original intent. The only framer who referenced this "separation" was Thomas Jefferson, and it was not even at the Constitutional Convention! In a letter from Jefferson to