<p>House Speaker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mike-johnson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mike Johnson</a> (R-LA) called the separation of church and state a &#8220;misnomer&#8221; when CNBC co-anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin attempted to corner him about kneeling and praying on the floor of Congress earlier this year.</p>
<p>&#8220;The separation of church and state is a misnomer —people misunderstand it,&#8221; Johnson said during an interview on &#8220;Squawk Box.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Of course, it comes from a phrase that was in a letter that [Thomas] Jefferson wrote — it&#8217;s not in the Constitution,&#8221; he added.</p>
<p>Johnson referred to Thomas Jefferson&#8217;s 1802 <a href="https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpre.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to the Danbury Baptist Association of Connecticut when Jefferson served as the third President of the United States.</p>
<p>&#8220;What he was explaining is they did not want the government to encroach upon the church, not that they didn&#8217;t want principles of faith to have influence on our public life is exactly the opposite,&#8221; Johnson said. &#8220;It&#8217;s exactly the opposite.&#8221;</p>
<p>He then referenced <a href="https://virginiahistory.org/learn/george-washingtons-farewell-address#:~:text=%E2%80%9COf%20all%20the%20dispositions%20and,men%20and%20citizens...." target="_blank" rel="noopener">George Washington&#8217;s Farewell Address</a>, delivered in 1796, which stated, &#8220;Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.&#8221;</p>
<p>Johnson also mentioned John Adams&#8217; <a href="https://www.johnadamsacademy.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=2003858&amp;type=d&amp;pREC_ID=2094472#_ftn1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to the Massachusetts Militia in 1798, which read, &#8220;Our constitution is made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;They knew that it would be important to maintain our system,&#8221; Johnson said. &#8220;And that&#8217;s why I think we need more of that &#8212; not an establishment of any national religion, but we need everybody&#8217;s vibrant expression of faith because it&#8217;s such an important part of who we are as a nation.&#8221;</p>
<p>Johnson <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-make-no-apologies-new-house-speaker-says-the-bible-is-his-worldview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">received</a> unanimous Republican support after three weeks of chaos — and three other nominees for the position — and was elected on October 25 to replace ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), becoming second in line to the presidency.</p>
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<p>During his first speech as speaker, Johnson told every other member of Congress that he believed God had called them all to use their gifts to serve the American people.</p>
<p>But just before the newly minted House Speaker secured the gavel, Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) posted a photo of Johnson with a small cadre of House members praying for the Speaker&#8217;s race back in January.</p>
<p>In the CNBC interview, Johnson pointed to the First Amendment when asked about expressing his faith on the House floor after being sworn in.</p>
<p>&#8220;Faith — our deep religious heritage and tradition is a big part of what it means to be an American,&#8221; Johnson said. &#8220;When the founders set the system up, they wanted a vibrant expression of faith in the public square because they believed that a general moral consensus and virtue was necessary to maintain this grand experiment and self-governance.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;So we created a government of, by, and for the people,&#8221; he added. &#8220;We don&#8217;t have a king in charge, we don&#8217;t have a middleman — so we&#8217;ve got to keep morality amongst us so that we have accountability.&#8221;</p>
<p>Johnson worked as a senior lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund, focusing on religious freedom issues in schools, government, and other public spaces before he entered Congress.</p>
<p>His faith plays a significant role in his political decision-making — so much so that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/01/opinion/mike-johnson-christian-nationalism-speaker.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a> seethed over him becoming the first speaker of the House &#8220;who can be fairly described as a Christian nationalist.&#8221;</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Lots of misleading headlines. Take a look at what I actually said here: <a href="https://t.co/Vw3AHzoRvT">pic.twitter.com/Vw3AHzoRvT</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1724809472529633434?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><em>Virginia Kruta contributed to this report.</em></p>

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CNBC Anchor Tries To Corner Mike Johnson On Church And State, Gets A History Lesson Instead

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CNBC Anchor Tries To Corner Mike Johnson On Church And State, Gets A History Lesson Instead