Song: “Church & State”
A family civics lesson and a musical sketch combine into a great protest song
Brandi Carlile has avowed her religious persona. She has also said repeatedly that separating church and state — as our Constitution dictates — is good for both the faith and the people.
Given the tenor of the times, she felt a need to bring this message to life through her music.
“Church & State” was released with Carlile’s 2025 album Returning to Myself. It evolved from music written in metal-friendly drop D by guitarist Tom Hanseroth. The lyrical choices solidified months later when Carlile left a voicemail for her children after the 2024 election. Reading from Thomas Jefferson’s “Letter to the Danbury Baptists,” Carlile wanted to instill a civics lesson. Her family saved the message, and it was featured in the recorded version of the song, one Carlile proudly describes as a protest song:
I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.
The version below comes from one of Carlile’s renowned performances at Red Rocks in Colorado — a venue where I’ve seen her twice, and hoo boy is it an experience.
Enjoy!