2006-09-20 12:10:45 · 14 answers · asked by Cliffather 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
The Founding Fathers didn't 'found ' anything until around 150+ years after the Pilgrims came. The Pilgrims were still British subjects. Their Governors were appointed by the Crown. They were extremely strict and rigid in their beliefs.
They hung three people , including Mary Dyer for preaching Quakerism. Later they went bonkers and burnt 'witches" . Women were chattels and expected to keep their mouths shut. They may have come to escape religious persecution at first, but there was a massive influx of English in 1630, who wanted land and a better life.
Our Founding Fathers framed the Constitution after the Revolutionary war in the late 1770's . They made it very clear that the newly formed United States of America would be separate from any religion. They wisely opted to make a wall of separation between State and any religion.
2006-09-20 13:02:40 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
All of the founding fathers were Christians, but many (like Jefferson) were Deists. Deism is a religious viewpoint that God exists but is not involved in everyday life. Deists often reject miracles, and Jefferson edited a bible that removed most of the miracles.
It's difficult to say where we would be if the US was founded on atheism, because very few places in history if any have been devoid of religion, and there's never been a democratic society that has been rigidly atheist (the Soviet bloc was the only major nation that banned religion altogether). The constitution probably wouldn't have had a religious freedom clause. Another element of the founding is that the founders believed 'natural rights' came from God. Jefferson wrote in the Declaration that "all men are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights..." So an atheist America would probably lack many of the first amendment protections may have been absent.
2014-02-17 09:13:18 · answer #2 · answered by ? 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Many of the founding Fathers were not Christian, if that was what you meant by religious. Also, the Pilgrims were a small group of Puritan Separatists who were not generally important to the structure or development of Colonial America. Generally, I don't think there would be too much of a change other than perhaps a little more acceptance of atheism and agnosticism from the general population.
2006-09-20 19:15:00 · answer #3 · answered by reverenceofme 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Well, most of the Founding Fathers weren't religious, and I believe the Pilgrims were sent from England to North America because they were fanatical.
2006-09-20 19:16:20 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
The Pilgrims came to America to get away from religious persecution. The Founding Fathers knew that all wisdom comes from the Intelligent Designer Himself, so there was no question about "religion". It was an assumed presupposition. The secular culture today sees no logical reason to look outside of their own relative thinking to try to give meaning to government, culture, economics, etc. etc.... all the ingredients of which our culture is made. Therefore, maybe your question should really be "What would our government today be like if we truly understood who we are in the universe. Are we gods ourselves? Or, is there a God who desires order and cultural meaning?
2006-09-20 19:22:09 · answer #5 · answered by bwlobo 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think there would be no significant difference. Even though most of the founders were men of faith (of one sort or another, though certainly not all orthodox Christians, as the religious right would have us believe), they also understood that one's faith or moral philosophy is a matter of individual taste and conscience. They tried to make certain it would remain such, denying the government the power to usurp that right. The Constitution would still have been a secular document reflecting Enlightenment values. The founders were not perfect men, but they were very wise, indeed, learning much from history.
2006-09-20 19:13:47 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ehhh... the most prominent and influential of the founding fathers were NOT religious... they were deists and atheists.
You need to brush up on your history, Buckwheat.
2006-09-20 19:15:11 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Most of them weren't. The vast majority of people went to America for economic reasons.
2006-09-20 19:13:08 · answer #8 · answered by Bob-bob 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well, all that we're seeing now would have happened a
whole lot sooner. It was the religious upbringing that made
society morally pure for the longest time, but little by little,
morality has been eroding until now we're smothered by
rape, robbery, murder, gays, kidnappings, drugged =out
people, wars, divorce, abortion, suicides, mental illness,
sexual diseases, pornography, child abuse, wife abuse, hate
speech and hate killings. We reap what we sow.
2006-09-20 19:16:53 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Just like it is today!
Study your History (His-story).
Founded on-for and by Greed.
2006-09-20 19:14:48 · answer #10 · answered by cork 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋