"I like going by churches that have fancy Nativity scenes and live Nativity scenes," Lynn said. "It's a neat thing. I've been known to stop the car and say, 'Whoa, let's look at that Nativity scene.' But I don't want Nativity scenes on the courthouse lawn."

As head of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the strict separatist group, Lynn often finds himself at the forefront of the contemporary fights to define the proper role of religion in American public life, including the current controversy in Alabama pitting state officials against federal judges on the proper relationship between government and religion.

Along with the American Civil Liberties Union, Lynn's group filed a lawsuit that resulted in rulings by U.S. District Judge Ira DeMent of the Middle District of Alabama on which religious practices can't--and can--be allowed in state public schools.