Can you admit that America is a Christian nation,always was,always will be?
2007-04-27 10:35:53 · 21 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
"Man will ultimately be governed by God or by tyrants."
Benjamin Franklin
2007-04-27 10:46:22 · update #1
Freedom of religion means that we all as citizens of the USA have the freedom to worship as we please, when we please, and whom we please without interference from the government. We also have the right to not worship without interference from the government.
We have no such thing as freedom from religion. Our constitution does not even suggest that at some point in our day to day life that we will not see or hear something referring to religion. Considering that our founding fathers put "In God we trust" on our money and referred to God almighty in the Constitution, our State's Constitution, and many other documents.
America is a nation that is predominately Christian. Around 80% of Americans refer to themselves as Christian. Thus other countries view us as a Christian nation.
Saying that America was founded on secular beliefs is false. Our founding fathers believed in God and founded this nation on their belief in God and with much thanks to Him. It's obvious by what I mentioned above.
Thomas Jefferson wrote the Virginia Act for Establishing Religious Freedom
http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/sacred/vaact.html
His intention with this document seems focused on the governnment setting up a state church and demanding that the citizens tithe or support that particular church. That is what was on the founding father's minds when they wrote the constitution. Not whether or not a child can pray in class, or carry a bible to school, or if the ten commandments can be on display in a court house.
Establishing that the writers of the Constitution believed in God and declared it many times is in no way declaring a state Church, or coercing citizens to believe in God, or to go to Church, or to be relgious or to give thier money to a certain church. Saying that our laws are based on biblical teachings doesn't violate Freedom of Religion, either.
I think America is, and was, a God loving and God fearing nation. I pray that we can continue to be so.
2007-04-27 11:10:10 · answer #1 · answered by ? 6 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Freedom of religion /does/ also mean freedom from religion. It can't fail to mean that. If religion can be inflicted upon you, /another/ religion could be inflicted upon you. Freedom from being coerced into a different religion is the same as being free from coercion into any religion at all, when you are not yourself religious, or follow a purely personal faith.
Some of the 'founding fathers,' most notably Thomas Jefferson, a strong proponent of freedom of religion, were deists. Deists believe in an ultimate divinity, but not in a particular religion. Freedom of Religion was never meant to mean "Freedom to choose which denomination of Christian you want to be."
American has always been predominantly Christian, but there is no constitutional gaurantee that it always will be - only that, if it ceases to be predominantly Christian, the freedom of religion of it's Christian minority will be protected, just as the freedom of religion of it's non-christian and athiest citizens are now.
2007-04-27 10:49:44 · answer #2 · answered by B.Kevorkian 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
huh? with what you state, you answered your own question. in the usa, we have the freedom to pick & chose the religion we want or to chose not to be religious. yeah! america was founded & colonized by europeans whose basis of religion was either roman catholic or protestant, both are christian-based religions. now, keeping in mind the native americans that practiced their beliefs, they were moved or systematically destroyed due to their presence, not their religion/belief. they occupied lands considered prime for european development. can i admit america is a christian nation? i just did and since the real power behind all others is the WASP, it would do you a service if you were to find out what the WASP is, who is in power that is a WASP and just how powerful they really are! nothing moves in this country or in europe without the say-so of the WASP. religion has become a third-rate reason for power. the tiers of power have shifted but the common denominator allbeit back seat is/was religion. this ($$$) is your new god!
2007-04-27 10:49:02 · answer #3 · answered by blackjack432001 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you're referring to the general celebration of Christmas and Easter... you're off the boat.
People celebrate Christmas because it gives them more vacation time. Or because they get gifts. Or maybe because family comes together at that time. That's the only reasons why it is celebrated over the airwaves and in the media; for consumers.
It's the same thing with Easter. Chocolate bunnies? Where do bunnies relate with Jesus? Did he keep bunnies? What about the eggs?
As such, America is a consumer nation, and any holiday that can make people buy things is celebrated. Why is Good Friday not as celebrated as Easter? Because you can't sell anything Good Friday related, because people usually have *in a sensual voice* Bad... Fridays.
2007-04-27 10:53:26 · answer #4 · answered by K 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My( amish/Mennonite) family came here almost 300 years ago, after being chased out of Switzerland and Germany, because the (Christian) governments of those countries had decided what the official version of Christianity was going to be.
The Amish people( and the Quakers who were chased out of England around the same time by the Church of England) believed to more or less the same degree, that serving the Lord required more than Taking his name in Vanity (alternative translation, meaning it is a sin to call yourself a "Christian") It meant they were required to lead a Christ-like existence of tolerance, forgiveness, and responsibility to their community, among others.
They found Paradise here (they even named one of their towns Paradise) and were free to live their religion as they saw fit.
If this had been a " Christian" nation, they would have known that that it was only a matter of time until
the persecution started. Whoever is telling you that it
was, is lying to you.
The fact is, there were no "Christians" of the right wing variety until very recently. In fact, it's difficult to find someone calling themselves a "Christian" until fairly recently.
More often, they spoke of "doing the Christian thing" or "trying to be Christian" which meant being charitable, or tolerant or forgiving.
2007-04-27 11:59:35 · answer #5 · answered by commandercody70 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I've read the responses to your question, and I wonder whether they are due to the fact that schools are doing such a poor job of education, or whether these people just skipped that week in grammar school where they teach you the prepositions. (for those of you who need remedial help, that would include "of" and "from").
Did these people forget that America was colonized by the Pilgrims who were escaping religious persecution? They came here to FREELY practice their religion. In order to ensure that people were never coerced into practicing a particular religion, the clause "freedom of religion" was incorporated into the Constitution. This simply means that people can openly practice their religion. It does not mean that some whiny little dope can object to seeing a white cross to commemorate our soldiers who fell in battle (this is happening in San Francisco. Some typical Liberal idiots somehow find a large white cross, that American sailors find a comforting sign of home, "offensive", and want it removed. This cross is only visible by sea or by driving directly to the memorial. You can't even see it from the highway, but in typical Liberal fashion, they somehow reserve the right to be offended by something that neither concerns them nor is something they can even casually see.
How about this? Behind the Supreme Court Bench, the 10 Commandments are carved into the wall. Does that sound like our founding fathers didn't want religion to be observed?
Well into the 1800's, Bibles were always distributed to members of congress. To this day, Congress opens with a prayer.
Our currency says, "In God We Trust".
Our President is sworn into office with his hand on the bible.
What your other respondants keep dodging is the simple fact that Christian religion is under attack. You can't even have a nativity scene at Christmas in a public building. (however, I have seen cases where, at the same venue, there was also a Jewish Menorah, and a Muslim religious display, but only the Christian display received "complaints".
No one is advocating the establishment of a state religion. However, the right of people to openly practice their faith is under attack. People, as you pointed out, seem to think the Constitution says Freedom FROM religion. It's no different than the right to play a sport. If I have a baseball field, you have no right to feel "offended" if you stroll by and see us playing.
Our country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles. I suggest that if anyone disagrees, they should throw away all their (offensively religious) U.S. currency. After all, it say "In God We Trust". I wouldn't want you to be (gasp!) "offended".
2007-04-27 11:09:45 · answer #6 · answered by pachl@sbcglobal.net 7 · 3⤊ 2⤋
You got me on the first part, and lost me on the second. i agree, we are not foounded on freedom from religion, we are founded on freedom of religion...which means that we do not have a state sponsored religion. Now, a place like the middle east IS a religious nation...they are founded on islam, and carry out sharia law. i think we can all agree that being a secular LIBERAL nation is far better for the greater good, than the other way around. Peace.
2007-04-27 10:44:14 · answer #7 · answered by hichefheidi 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I won't admit something that is not true. Freedom of Religion means that someone in the US can practice any religion they choose. All the people in the US could be Christians, but it doesn't mean that the US is a Christian country. Nowhere in the Constitution does it state that Christianity is the official religion of the US; therefore, the US has no official religion.
2007-04-27 10:40:29 · answer #8 · answered by Your Best Fiend 6 · 6⤊ 1⤋
The first phrase of the First Amendment states:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;"
Where in that do you find ANYTHING which even REMOTELY tries to claim America as a "Christian" nation?
Where in that do you find anything which forces people to endure the practices, beliefs, or ideals of any specific religion?
Where in that CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT does it give you the right to force your beliefs down the throat of any American?
"Freedom FROM Religion" should have been in there.....
You CAN believe in your God without participating in organized religious services or being an azz about it.
2007-04-27 10:55:27 · answer #9 · answered by RTWS 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
No. Because we are not. Never have been. Never will be. It means that ANY person of ANY religion is free to practice their religion with out interference from the government as long as they are not breaking any laws and it also means that people who do not practice any religion cannot be forced to do so against their will. So it does also mean Freedom from Religion in that sense.
2007-04-27 10:43:55 · answer #10 · answered by courage 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋