US Speaker House of Representative Johnson

US 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. 

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“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.

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.”

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

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.”