Can an athiest be a true American?

Question

Being that America was founded by people of faith and faith has always been a central theme in America - like the penny says, "In God we trust" and like the words of the national anthem

"....And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'..."

Can an athiest be a true American?

Answer 1

Why not .This place was created to give people relief from religious persecution of all kinds

Answer 2

First of all, it is a fairy tale that America was based on the Christian faith of men. Most of the so-called Founding Fathers were not religious. Yes, they 'belonged' to religious bodies; they were citizens of England which had and still has an official state religion. You were not getting far in colonial times if you did not have a religious affiliation of some Christian sort.

Most of our Founding Fathers were 'diests', which means they accepted the existance of a higher power, nothing more.

All of the religious rubbish tacked onto our money was done back in the 1950s. Many Americans were very paranoid at that time about the 'athiest communists' of China and the Soviet Union. Those words were in the same venue as holding a crucifix up in the face of a vampire! Showmanship, nothing more.

More showmanship is the abominable Plege of Alligieance, which rearer its outdated little head in our schools back during MacCarthyism, another reactionary response to the Red Scare. It was orginally written at the end of the 19th century by a man who thought it would be a cool recitation for people of ANY country. He wrote it as, 'I pledge alligiance to MY flag....' We are the only country that has an oath to a flag, that raises a flag to a position of worship, and the only country that treats a cloth flag like it is sacred. I find flag worship to be disturbing.....

Your reference to the national anthemn really puzzles me. I am not aware that it makes any referrence to God. It is a song of war, written during the War of 1812.

Christianity did not become the 'theme' in this country until we experienced the 'joys' of the Religious Right, which has been further exploited by our current administation in Washington.

I am a Christian, but during our present times, I am very thankful that our Constitution guarantees us separation of church and state. Otherwise, someone in Washington would be telling us all WHAT KIND OF CHRISTIANs we would be.

If you are born in America, you are American. Religion has nothing to do with it.

Santa Fe

Answer 3

ok wise guy... before each and everything you as a christian can't tutor your concept is ideal any better than an athiest can tutor there is no God. Being athiest is a deduction and conlcusion in protecting with how our universe works, our existence memories, and the common sense instilled in us. it truly isn't any better a decision than being gay or liking the colour blue. An athiest does no longer care in case you've faith us or no longer because all of us understand that you christians are purely dropping a even as believing such non experience. Your so wrapped up in attempting to get human beings to position self belief on your God that you shut out the different possibilty. Evolution is a reality and per chance in case you picked up a e book except the bible you may understand this. even as your at it %. up a dictionary lol... by technique of how... you suck

Answer 4

Where the hell are those words in the national anthem? Obviously this question was posed by a true american jackass. Anyone who tries to give a serious answer will be sorely frustrated when the red white blue and "faithful" hammer comes down with some pure illogical might.

Answer 5

America was founded by people whose primary intent was to found a country where THE KING COULD NOT TELL YOU WHICH GOD TO WORSHIP.

This clearly included people who did not believe in any god at all. Most of the signers of the Constitution were Deists, not Christians.

"In God We Trust" was not put on US currency until 1864, and McCarthy (what a nice man!) was responsible for adding it to the Pledge of Allegiance in the 1950s


Read this, you might learn something:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/nat_mott.htm

You should never forget that an awful lot of "public Christians" are in fact private Atheists. Common sense always prevails in the end!

Answer 6

Of course they can be a true American!! Many American laws may have been LOOSELY based on Judeo-Christian principles, but more importantly, America was based on freedom of thought and religion. That is the real cornerstone of American democracy, not Christianity or any other specific religion. And besides, God can be interpreted as many ways as their are different interpretations. Some may interpret the motto as "In a Higher Power We Trust," "In Mother Earth We Trust." And their interpretation is just as valid as yours and mine. Many atheists believe in a central power, whether it be Mother Earth, etc. I don't agree with our loose firearm laws (I believe that the 2nd Ammendment is an Independence War-era relic that needs to be revised). Does this make me any less of an American??

Answer 7

Actually, a good many of the colonists came to the future US in order to escape religious persecution because they were Jews, members of minority Christian sects, or ATHIESTS who did not wish to be fined, imprisoned, or even killed for conforming to local religious prejudices.

The quote you are using comes from the Star-Spangled Banner, written by Francis Scott Key, who wasn't even born until AFTER the Revolutionary War, in 1814. "In God We Trust" did not become the national motto until 1956, when Congress changed it from "E Pluribus Unum" ("Out of Many, One"), although it was used on coins dated back to the Civil War era.

The First Amendment guaranteeds freedom of religion... and freedom FROM religion if one so chooses. The Founding Fathers believed that was the single most important safeguard for the American people, which is why it was listed first in the Bill of Rights.

I contend that anyone who believes that one has to be a Christian (or any "person of faith") is more unAmerican than an athiest who loves his country and his people.

Answer 8

An atheist can be a true American only if that atheist exhibits the faith (in the republic) and tolerance that enables him / her to live here AS an atheist. As an atheist's choice to NOT believe is respected so should he/she respect others' choice to believe and worship.

Similarly, a God-fearing and worshiping American can only be so if he/she practices tolerance as well as faith.

Sometimes both parties fail miserably to live up to being "American."

It's common nowadays to think that if there's something we choose to believe or not, then that something either has to be propogated or removed from public view because it might "offend" us.

Guess what? There is no clean, perfect, sanitized world in which we can raise our children and grandchildren. Would we really WANT to raise them in that kind of atmosphere?. It's precisely the presence of such things that provide object lessons to us and them. We might have to spend a bit more time to explain some of these things, but how else are they to learn?

Answer 9

American- define american........... We don't have a national language, so yeah. We don't have a theocracy (some may think so) so yeah. I'm goin to just say that Americans are people who live here. If an aethist lives here, I dare say they'd be american.

By the way--- the Motto is going through changes. Yeah...

The only reason we put in god we trust on currency is to fight communism believe it or not... so if we are aethist we are also commies too?

I suggest do your homework first

Answer 10

"In God we Trust", was only added to the currency of America in 1952. The national anthem doesn't mention God. In fact, freedom of religion is one of the founding rights and reasons of this country. Freedom of religion must certainly contain the freedom to not have religion.

Can someone who is bigoted and uneducated about his or her country be a true American?

Answer 11

Yeah.

America was founded by people of the cacausian race. Are you suggesting asians, african-americans, native americans, hispanics, or people of any other race are not Americans?

American was founded by men. Are you suggesting women are not Americans?

America was founded by middle-aged people, are you suggesting children and seniors are not Americans?

Faith is not the definition of an American. Being an American is about being born on American soil, or becoming an American citizen.

Please do us all a favor and take your twisted logic elsewhere.