separationist

The Hardison case came amid a long line of cases that scholars label “separationist,” because they ascribed to the “wall of separation” concept.

“To religious conservatives,” he wrote, “‘under God’ is a crucial symbol, the last religious reference left in the schools since the separationist makeover of education.”

That was a moment in American history when separationist secularism was pushing prayer out of state-funded schools, abolishing religious tests for public employment and showing unprecedented concern for the rights of religious minorities.

When John F. Kennedy exclaimed in 1960: "I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute," he was trumpeting the new separationist status quo.

He was a supporter of Black separationists, who pursued equality by urging Black people to avoid integration.