Is the separation of church and state even possible? — Athena

Of course.

For example, in Sweden state and church separated gradually in the 1800s and 1900s, and completely in 2000. Sweden is a secular state allowing freedom of religion. Most swedes would say that religious belief is a private matter.

Unlike private belief, a church is a means to practice shared belief in large groups, which then becomes an opportunity for its leaders to control people. A state can therefore use a church to control entire populations.

Thank you for the post. White Christian Nationalism (WCN) may or may not be the harbinger of a future fascist United States, but if such a thing should happen, WCN will definitely be on the reviewing stand as the Männerbund stomps past singing

… In our own towns, we're foreigners now
Our names are spat and cursed
The headline smack, of another attack
Not the last, and not the worst
Oh my fathers, they look down on me
I wonder what they feel
To see their noble sons driven down beneath a cowards heel

Oh by God we'll have our home again...

Church and state can be, and have been kept separate a good share of the time (IMHO). What can't be, and hasn't been, kept separate are religious and secular cultural drivers. Sometimes that is a very positive thing -- think of the mix of religious and secular impulses in the mid-20th century civil rights movement. There is a long history of the religious-secular mix, from the Puritans to the present.

Add racism, nationalism, testosterone, resentment, etc., and you have a highly toxic brew.

I agree that there are very conservative Christian denominations and congregations that are hotbeds of authoritarianism. A lot of them are charismatic / evangelical. But the term "evangelical" also applies to mainline Lutherans, (it's part of their official name), who are far from WCN.

Prayer breakfasts at the White House are an abomination, for sure, and we should remember Jefferson's statement, "Indeed I tremble for my country when reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep for ever."