Editing Separation of church and state (section)

====Reformed====
The Reformed tradition of Christianity ([[Congregationalist]], [[Continental Reformed]], [[Presbyterian]] denominations) have also addressed the issue of the relationship between the Church and state. In its 1870 [[Presbyterian polity#General assembly|General Assembly]], the [[Presbyterian Church in the United States]] stated:<ref name="Thompson1902"/>

{{Blockquote|We should regard the successful attempt to expel all religious instruction and influence from our public schools as an evil of the first magnitude. Nor do we see how this can be done without inflicting a deadly wound upon the intellectual and moral life of the nation…We look upon the state as an ordinance of God, and not a mere creature of the popular will; and, under its high responsibility to the Supreme Ruler of the world, we hold it to be both its right and bound duty to educate its children in those elementary principles of knowledge and virtue which are essential to its own security and well-being. The union of church and state is indeed against our American theory and constitutions of government; but the most intimate union of the state with the saving and conservative forces of Christianity is one of the oldest customs of the country, and has always ranked a vital article of our political faith.<ref name="Thompson1902">{{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Robert Ellis |title=The American Church History Series: A History of the Presbyterian Churches |year=1902|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|language=en|page=199}}</ref>}}