Speaker Mike Johnson: Separation of church and state is 'misunderstood'

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, March 19, 2026

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is calling on Americans to embrace the true meaning of the term “separation of church and state,” which he said is “one of the most misunderstood issues in American society.”

The 2026 National Catholic Prayer Breakfast took place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Thursday, with concluding remarks from Johnson, who reflected on the role that the Christian faith has played in U.S. history ahead of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. 

“It is from the very birth of our nation that America has always been sustained by prayer and been reliant upon our foundation of religion and morality and it’s in the DNA of our nation and who we are,” he explained.

Johnson, a former professor and lawyer, emphasized his expertise in “religion in the public sphere,” calling it one of his favorite and most misunderstood topics. 

“I’m often criticized for invoking my faith,” Johnson said. “That’s not some innovative thing. There are some very angry voices out there trying to convince us breathlessly that there must be a rigid separation between church and state. It’s a phrase that’s often repeated, as we know, but very rarely understood.”

Touching on the origin of the phrase, Johnson added that “separation of church and state” first appeared in “a personal letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptist Association” rather than the United States Constitution. “And in that letter, he explained that because ‘religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God,’ the First Amendment is a vital safeguard for our rights of conscience.”

“Jefferson wrote that he revered that act of the American people, which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state,” he added.

Referring to atheist and nontheist organizations and advocacy groups who often use the phrase “separation of church and state” when criticizing religion in the public square, Johnson lamented that “now, they take that phrase and they turn it around.”

Johnson insisted that “Jefferson clearly did not mean that wall to keep religion from influencing our government and public life.”

“To the contrary, the Founders wanted to protect the church and the religious practice of citizens from an encroaching state, not the other way around,” Johnson maintained, telling the audience that “our Founders understood that a free society and a healthy republic depend upon religious and moral virtue [to] help prevent the abuse of power [and] make it possible to preserve our essential freedom.”

He continued: “The Founders wanted a flourishing of faith in the public square because they knew that religion and moral virtues strengthen our nation by encouraging and inspiring things like individual responsibility, self-sacrifice, civility, family and community, the dignity of hard work, the rule of law and the sanctity of every human life. Without those virtues indispensably supported by religion and morality, no nation can endure.”

Johnson concluded his remarks by stressing the need to “rededicate ourselves to the cause of our Founders” and “turn toward prayer again, just as they did.” He described prayer as the force that “strengthens and fortifies this grand experiment in self-governance and liberty [and] repairs the foundations that … undergird the republic.”

“We do live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. It’s not even close. It’s free, most successful, most powerful, most benevolent nation that’s ever been, and it is because we are built on those foundations. And in order for us to keep this, you and I know it’s a spiritual battle,” he proclaimed.