FREEDOM OF RELIGION? When the Framers of the Constitution attempted to protect the concept of ?

Question

"Freedom of Religion", do you think it was possible that they meant freedom of denomination? Do you THINK they really meant all religions, even those outside of Christianity? Do you THINK any one of the Framers left England to practice any other world religion?

Answer 1

Freedom Of, Freedom From!
The framers were primarily Deists , not Christians.

The government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion.”
THOSE WORDS, PENNED IN ARTICLE 11 of the 1797 Treaty of Tripoli, are as succinct a statement as we have from the Founding Fathers on the role of religion in our government. Their authorship is ascribed variously to George Washington, under whom the treaty was negotiated, or to John Adams, under whom it took effect, or sometimes to Joel Barlow, U.S. consul to Algiers, friend of Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine, and himself no stranger to the religious ferment of the era, having served as a chaplain in the Revolutionary Army. But the validity of the document transcends its authorship for a simple reason: it was ratified. It was debated in the U.S. Senate and signed into law by President Adams without a breath of controversy or complaint concerning its secular language, and so stands today as an official description of the founders’ intent.

The framers of the Constitution were descendants of the first immigrants perhaps, but the original English immigrants had been here since 1620. Over 20,000 came in1630. Quite a long time to the late 1700's, and they were the first citizens of the United States. And yes, they meant everybody, Jew, Muslim, or Atheist!

I add my pet peeve: Why do people ignore the fact that the original 13 colonies, later States, were not here waiting for the first settlers..the country had been populated and developed over a period of over 150 years before the Revolution!

Answer 2

When the framer's wrote the Constitution they were being fairly idealistic, so they might have actually meant freedom of religion. I'm pretty sure all the framers were Christians, but there really weren't that many other options, if you were English you were Christian. However, there were some Jew's living in Pennsylvania.

There are a few things you have to remember:
1. Many of the people who came to America were escaping religious oppression, and the later saw their country torn apart by fighting religous factions (the Glorious Revolution) so they recognized the importance for total freedom of relgion in order to create a stable government
2. Religion was not so much of a mix n match thing back then. The main conflict was between Catholics and Prodetsants (both Christians) but most other religous groups lived off in their own corners of the world.

Answer 3

Well, they were all Christian in their own way, though in a much different way than we would consider it today. They were products of the Enlightenment, which held some very conflicted views about religion. If you'll notice, the Founding Fathers rarely mentioned "God" or "Jesus." Instead, they talked more about "Providence," or "the Creator," almost as if trying to sidestep the question of God.

As for religion itself, it's important to remember that as a European colony, America was a destination for Europeans, and Europe at that time was overwhelmingly Christian. The question of other world religions could hardly have come up, since few, if any, Muslims, Buddhists, etc., were immigrating to America during the time of the Founding Fathers.

However, George Washington wrote a very famous letter to the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, which is taken as a signal of the Framers' belief that religious equality should extend beyond the various denominations of Christianity. It is where Washington said that the United States government should give "to bigotry no sanction, to persectution no assistance." That he wrote this to a Jewish congregation is thought of as highly significant.

The text of Washington's letter is here: http://www.tourosynagogue.org/GWLetter1.php?str=Washington+Letter

Answer 4

Yes. All religions.

The words of the Treaty of Tripoli (1796) directly contradict the claim that the country was founded by and for Christians. Just a handful of years after the Constitution was written, Congress said that "the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion". (Article 11 of the Treaty).

As if it weren't enough that most of the Founders were Deists, not Christians. Or that the Supreme Court said in 1878 that the phrase " a wall separating church from state" should be taken as "an authoritative declaration of the scope and effect of the [1st] amendment thus secured." Reynolds v. U.S., 98 U.S. 145 (1878).

The word "God" does not appear anywhere in the Constitution. But twice, in Article VI and the 1st Amendment, the Framers included references prohibiting any religion from controlling govt.

Answer 5

And even during the revolutionary war they did not allow freedom of religion, since they would not allow people to be with the Church of England ( because they were loyal to England)

But they would be ok with people having thier different faiths, but not the others stopping Chritian behavior. They were indeed of Christian beleif, having and naming God in the Pre amble and including God and prayer as part of Congress and swearing in people into office. And it goes more and more.
Schools were taught by the church, and all the first colleges were religous ones. There was always prayer in school.

People could practice what they wanted but they could not stop christians from having a main role.

Also the constitution actually only says that the federal government can not estabiish a state (federal) religion.
But the states would have been free to have thier own religion, remember back then states had rights that the federal government could not restrict.

Answer 6

I think every last one of our founding fathers had a belief in God. Read the declaration of independence carefully and you will see it.

hmmm.. I don't know. I mean I think that muslims and buddists and stuff should be able to practice their beliefs. The very thought that someone will one day come and decide that they don't like my religion or beliefs and take it away from me is a very scary one.
But when one religion says to harm another for whatever reason - that's where I draw the line. I can't imagine that the framers of the constitution were thinking THAT~

Answer 7

Yes. They meant religion, not denomination. All of the framers were highly educated and a number were lawyers. Had they meant for it to say denomination, it stands to reason they would have had it say so. The framers however did not leave England for religious purposes. Some of their forebearers might have, but they did not attempt to escape religious persecution. Rather, it was a matter of economic freedom.

Answer 8

Thomas Paine was a Quaker, Quakers were not too well liked, but that's not why he left England. Most of the framers were born here but many of the people who came before them left to escape religious persecution. Even in early colonial times in New England, if you weren't of the right religion (Puritan), you could not vote.

I think they were mainly Christians, so they were probably thinking in terms of Christian denominations, but when we say "freedom of religion", that's not what the 1st Amendment says, it says that Congress will not make a law establishing a state religion. So essential it means that you can't be legally denied rights if you are a member of an unpopular denomination. One other thing, I doubt they meant freedom from religion, I think they acknowledge the importance of it.

Answer 9

I think that they DID mean ALL religions. If they meant freedom of denomination, they would have said as such. They did not; instead they stated religion. To me that says that they meant all religions - Christianity and otherwise. But that is my feelings on the issue. The only ones that truly know the answer died a few hundred years ago. . .

Answer 10

Read the Federalist papers. That will answer all your questions. The original draft of the establishment clause actually said "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or inhibiting the free exercise of the Christian faith" The words Christian faith were replaced with the words "there of". Because of fears this would lead to oppression of Catholics, since the protestant majority considered them apostates from Christianity at the time.

By the way, the words "seperation of church and state" do not appear in the the constitution. They were lifted from a private letter of Thomas Jeffersons in which he was explaining to a worried Catholic Priest how the afore mentioned change in language would protect Catholics as well. The current doctrine of "seperation of church and state" didn't appear in American jurisprudence until a Supreme court opinion written by Justice Hugo Black in 1948. And even then it was never meant to mean seperation of God and State, but rather the church and the state were independent institutions with seperate spheres of responsibility that were both ordained by God.