was America founded for religious freedom or for "No taxation without representation"?

Question

Did the Colonists dump the Tea into Boston harbour because it was atheist tea, or as a tax revolt because they couldn't get members into the British parlament to represent them.?

I am asking this because of all the answers I have seen stating that USA was founded for religious reasons.

wayfar, this is not a question from anger. I am not angry. It is a question to see what people know and hopefully to get that spread around a bit. Many people fall for Fallwell's claim that USA is a religious state because they simply don't know thier history. That is why this is under religion and why it is going to voting.

Answer 1

they came here for religious freedom
they stayed and made it a republic free of state run/sanctioned religion

http://www.truthortradition.com/modules.php?name=Topics

Answer 2

Yes--to both. There's no reason why it has to be one or the other. There were also other grievances, such as the Quartering Act (see 3rd Amendment).

The Boston tax revolt is part of what triggered the rebellion against Britain. However, the Constitution prohibits any religious test for any government office, and the 1st Amendment establishes freedom of religion, including freedom not to practice any at all. This is because the founders recognized that a union of church and state would threaten *all* freedoms--freedom from taxation w/o represention being among these. Later writings by Jefferson and Madison clearly and unequivocally show that the intention of the 1st Amendment was indeed separation of church and state (despite the denials of the Dominionists), and that public resources are not to be used to promote religion. Last month we were reminded, by the inauguration of Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), that there is no requirement to swear on the Bible.

Answer 3

I've never seen it for religious freedom, basically it was discovered and had to be colonized, most of the first people were indentured servants and criminals. The "No taxation without representation" came about because of the high Taxes the British were putting on everything, not just Tea and then we had a little revolution.

Answer 4

If you recheck your history, youll discover that the pilgrims came over here for religious freedom in the 1600's. The Boston tea party and the whole taxation issue didnt occur until the colonies were well on their way and getting sick of England in the mid 1700's.

Answer 5

Many of those who CAME to America did so for religious freedom. They were persecuted in other countries where the state controlled the church and everyone was required to attend and pay tithes to that church.

But I am not aware of any effort by the British or others to block the freedom of religion. Rather what lead to the WAR was a desire to be free of British rules and taxes, and to have their own representative government.

(How about that - a war that was NOT fought for religious reasons!! I didn't think that was possible!!)

Answer 6

There were religous issues important to forming the United States, but I'd bet the people you are angry with don't understand the history of religion in the colonies--if they did, they wouldn't try to push religion into matters of state. Keeping the government out of religion, and not allowing religion to push rules on everyone in a country regardless of their religion, were some of the biggest reasons people left Europe.

It wasn't over taxes either though--that was just a rallying cry and justification (an American paid 2% the amount of tax an Englishman did). The real issue was merchantilism--a system of trade and tarrifs that allowed England to get rich at the expense of its colonies.

Answer 7

The first British Colony in North America was in Virginia. It was a comerical venture. It's purpose was to look for gold and exploit the natural resources of the country. By the time the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth(by mistake, they were trying to reach Virginia) the Virginia colony at Jamestown was a thriving venture growing tobacco.

Answer 8

Look, Im an atheist - but this country was founded on the idea of religious freedom. The original settlers came to escape religious persecution in England. And, if you read some of the early Supreme Court cases, you can see for yourself that this country was founded on Christian ideaologies.

However, times have changed. We are no longer a Christian nation, we are a nation of many faiths - including no faiths. So, Christians need to stop forcing Christian principles on others.

Answer 9

In the late 1700's, almost everybody couched political theory in religious language. (The French Revolution was the first, perhaps, not to do this.)

Consider the first two sentences of the Declaration of Independence:
"When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Jefferson used the idea of rights, *particularly* as coming from the Creator ("nature's God"), for the basis of the establishment of a new country.

Answer 10

the Boston tea party was a tax revolt but the US was also founded because the founders wanted to be freed from the church of england. so i guess it was founded for both