Is anyone else being driven mad by people who say that our country was founded by Christians?

Question

I am stunned by the number of people who don't understand the separation of church & state, and how fundamentally important it is. We must start educating our children so that they may be armed with truth against the dogma which flows so bountifully through our very confused, ill-informed, fearful, ignorant population.

Is this too difficult?

One of the most common statements from the "Religious Right" is that they want this country to "return to the Christian principles on which it was founded". THIS STATEMENT IS A LIE. The men responsible for building the foundation of the United States had little use for Christianity, and many were strongly opposed to it. They were men of The Enlightenment. They were Deists who did not believe the bible was true.
When the Founders wrote the nation's Constitution, they specified that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." (Article 6, section 3) This provision was radical in its day-- giving equal citizenship to believers and non-believers alike. They wanted to ensure that no single religion could make the claim of being the official, national religion, such as England had. The words "Jesus Christ, Christianity, Bible, and God" are never mentioned in the Constitution-- not once.

For aarondarling:

http://freethought.mbdojo.com/foundingfathers.html#Jefferson

Answer 1

Yes, a lot of the founding fathers were Deists and not Christian, and just paid the deity lip service in a ceremonial fashion. I have a long list of quotes in which they said some VERY unflattering things about religion.

Even those who were Christian, did not intend to found a Christian country. The goverment was formed with the intent to be secular, and was from its conception.

Examples:
Thomas Jefferson: "Christianity...(has become) the most perverted system that ever shone on man...Rogueries, absurdities and untruths were perpetrated upon the teachings of Jesus by a large band of dupes and imposters led by Paul, the first great corruptor of the teachings of Jesus."

Thomas Paine: "I would not dare to so dishonor my Creator God by attaching His name to that book (the Bible)."

James Madison: "Religion and government will
both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together."

John Adams signed the Treaty of Tripoli. Article 11 states
"The Government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion."

Answer 2

I had this same conversation with someone just a couple of weeks ago around the use of the Koran by a newly elected member to Congress. The "pilgrims" that landed in Massachusetts fled their country of origin because of religious persecution. Emigrants for 200 + years have come to the USA because of the protections built into the Constitution against religious persecution. Without the deliberate creation of separation of church and state, there would be no freedom of religion, no freedom of speech. Everything would filter through the designated state religion much as it does in Iran. Or maybe they would rather religion not be allowed at all as it was in the Soviet Union or China?

I find it incredible that those that would rail against persecution of Christians in other parts of the world would be so intolerant of other religions here in the states. What are they afraid of?

Answer 3

Whether it was founded by Christians or not, it doesn't give anyone the right to decide things for me based on religious ideas that I might not share. That is why we separate religion from state matters. Not everyone in this country is a Christian, and faith is such a personal thing. As an American, I value my freedom of religion. To have someone dictate to me what I can and cannot do in the name of God makes us no better than the Taliban. It is a slippery slope you are dealing with here. If the way we live our lives is controlled by religious dogma, then the lawmakers can take away our right to decide for ourselves. This is a power over the public that no one should take lightly, because it can be abused so easily. Our system is about checks and balances. There are no checks and balances when it comes to religion. People believe what they believe, and to force those beliefs on others is morally wrong...and dangerous.

Answer 4

It's amazing how other special interest groups are allowed and tolerated as participants in Government and social-economic forces, but any hint of religion, even at those same levels, is derided as a violation of basic human rights.

Set up a monument to black history on civil property, everyone applauds. But set up a manger, the hand-wringers go crazy. Or uphold a union philosophy, and life goes on. No one tries to ban the union from any form of government. Uphold a religious philosophy, and the whole institution is attacked.

While religion should not dictate the decisions of a secular government, it certainly has it's place within it. In the same manner that any other ideological entity should be apart from (but permitted input into) government, such as military, Medicine, business, labor, ethnic minorities, the press, or farmers.

This is why the forefathers did not establish a separation of church and state, they only established the prohibition of a state church. And whether you like it or not, the country WAS founded by Christians (Judeo-Christians, to be more exact). And the rights against religion that you so adhemently defend were originally "endowed by your creator". Ironic, ain't it?

Answer 5

Our country was founded by Christians who didn't believe in that stuff. The time our country was founded less people went to church back then than today, percentage wise. Quote from Ben Franklin, "Lighthouses are more useful than churches." Thomas Jefferson didn't want preachers running for public office. He also wrote his own Bible in which he omitted Jesus' miracles. Quote from John Adams, "This world would be much better if there were no religion in it!" and "Christianity is the most perverted system that has ever shone on man."

Answer 6

Well, that's because it was founded by people who were deeply religious and yes, mostly Christians. The Judeo-Christian belief system was deeply ingrained in our country's founders. Read the constitution or declaration of independence or any of the other early writings. There are numerous mentions of God and our Creator, etc.

Separation of church and state does NOT mean that we have no religious values. It means that there is no required religion and that no particular religion will run the state. A modern day example of a religion running the state was the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Remember, the founding fathers were fleeing countries where they were persecuted for practicing certain beliefs. They wanted a country where they were free to practice whichever beliefs they desired. They certainly did not abandon their Judeo-Christian belief system when they created and designed how our country would be run. They embraced it and used it throughout.

Answer 7

OK
According to you what group of people did?
You need help!!!
I am no historian and don't have the dates in my head.
But Christians were coming here from the 1400's and Church and state wasn't until 1700 no 1776.
You are the only one using words like; confused; ill-informed; fearful; ignorant; that I hear or see. It is close to loony-tunes.
You must be the one with some problem.
Obviously you missed history and political science.
But I will try to set you straight.
YOUR WRONG
go home

Answer 8

No where in our constitution is there a mention of "God", a supreme being, or even any kind of mythical power.

While most of the founding fathers were Deists, they were staunch supporters of the seperation of church and state. Religious views were only discussed in private letters and communications.

You have to consider the times in which they lived. They were educated men, but they were also enslaved to the tune of the time.

Edit: And who is the nit-wit that mentioned the buildings in Washington? Ever been there and actually taken a close look at them? Apparently, this is too difficult.

Answer 9

Yes, I am. Christians love to use that line. It is not at all true but unfortunately it appears that most of them never read a history book or that they assume anyone who may believe in any higher power must be Christian. They don't seem to realize that the founding fathers were extremely careful not to put God into their documents.

Were some of them Christian? Of course. But even they were very careful not to make the US into a Christian nation because they did not want to recreate what they had left.

People also like to assume that every president has been a Christian as well. Also not true.

Answer 10

This country WAS founded by Christians. It was also founded by Deists. There is nothing wrong with pointing that fact out.

The problem is when people suggest the country should stay the same as it was when it was founded. We've evolved into something far different than the founders of this country could ever dream, and no matter how hard people try, we will not get back to those ideals. It's a different world, and those ideals are no longer relevant.

So, no. I'm not driven mad by it, but I do not agree with anyone who feels that this should be a country run by one religion.

EDIT: Aaron someone said the separation of church and state is not in the Constitution. However, it IS in there. It's called the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, and it states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." This combined with the Free Exercise Law has been consistently interpreted by the U.S. legal system as the separation of church and state.