Church, State, Vote

The "wall", in Jefferson's words, that separates Church and State, is formulated in the Constitution by two clauses, one prohibiting the establishment of a national religion, the other protecting the free exercise of religion, aka the Establishment Clause, and the Free Exercise Clause, respectively.  Now, the main difficulty with this wall is that "free exercise" is under-defined, which the Supreme Court has since rectified by holding that the verbal expressions of opinions and beliefs are protected exercises, while practices are not. So, on that basis, the refusal, on "religious" grounds, to conduct ordinary business, e. g. serving a particular customer, renting an apartment to a specific applicant, etc., seems plainly to cross Jefferson's wall, while the assertion "I believe that America is a Christian nation" does not.  But a vote, which has actual consequences, unlike a response to a poll, is an act, not a mere verbal expression of an opinion.  So, a vote that the voter believes is an 'expression of the will of God' seems protected, but it is admittedly Heterocratic, not Democratic.  Such a possibility is indicative of the permeability of Jefferson's wall.