Speaker Johnson is right. The religion clause of the first amendment does not create a separation of church and state, it simply says that the US congress may not rule on the matter:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof"

State and local governments may and, for more than a century, did. For instance, many states, including Massachusetts and Connecticut, had state religions right up til the end of the 19th century.

What the clause means is exactly what it says. The US congress may not rule on these matters, so when they make rulings about religion (either for or against something) they are acting unconstitutionally.

For example, when they say that it is unconstitutional to have a cross on the White House lawn, they are acting unconstitutionally by making the rule at all.

Speaker Johnson: Separation of church, state ‘a misnomer’

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) pushed back Tuesday on the belief that there should be separation between church and state on the U.S., arguing that the founding fathers wanted faith to be a “big part” of government.

“Separation of church and state … is a . . . read more