Separation of Church and State: The True Meaning

This one is really short but important none the less. People use the argument that the separation of church and state means getting rid of anything religious. But this argument is erroneous. The separation of church and state simply mean that the church cannot tell the state how to act. Conversely, the state cannot tell the church how to act. Meaning, the Church cannot force the citizens of the United States to go to church every week or follow a religious structure of life. Likewise, the state cannot tell the church when or how to act. It does not mean that every political person must hide their religious point of view. It doesn’t even mean that politicians cannot act based o their religious beliefs. All it means is that neither the State nor a religious faction can dictate the other. So, lets say, I’m the president. I can publicly pray, I can celebrate Christmas, I can make judgments based on my beliefs. But I cannot force the people to do the same. The separation of church and state does not mean getting rid of religion. It simply means that the state cannot control religion and religion cannot control the state.