The Soviet Constitution states that "the church in the U.S.S.R. is separated from the state, and the school from the church." Elaborating on this, a Soviet leader explained, "There is neither soil nor sap on which religion can feed in the U.S.S.R. ... Remember, the Church is separated from the state - and the schools are in the hands of the state." Likewise, the 1919 Fascist Manifesto calls for "rigidly secular" schools. In contrast, the U.S. Constitution says nothing of the sort and forbids government from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion" or "prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Contrary to what some claim, this doesn't mean religion is expelled from government or that all laws must be based on atheistic morals. Those who make that allegation appeal to an out-of-context quote from a private letter by Thomas Jefferson, while ignoring his explicit statements about the Constitution forbidding the federal government from enacting social programs.