When was Christianity established as our National Religion?

Question

http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/07/historian_barton_says_hindu_pr.php

If you go to the end of this article, you will see many people bloviating about how a Hindu has NO RIGHT to lead a senate prayer, because this is a "Christian Nation"

I thought the 1st amendment forbid the establishment of religion. When was Christianity established as the National Religion, and what specific laws on the books say that senate MUST open with a Christian prayer, and non-Christians are expressly forbidden from offering a senate prayer ?

I agree with everyone who has answered so far, and I agree that Christianity has thus far never been established as our National Religion. However, it is very apparent from this and other web sites, that many, many, Christians think Christianity is our National Religion. I would like to hear from them, about when, and where Christianity was established as our National Religion.

Pontius - Thanks for the great link ! I am going to bookmark it in my favorites !

Answer 1

This country was NOT founded on any Christian belief or ANY religious tenets. THIS COUNTRY WAS FOUNDED TO BE SECULAR. Read this >> http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/summer97/secular.html

Then after you're done, all you Christian Fundies can go figure out some other lie to make up. You know you will.

Answer 2

OK - Senate has a Christian prayer - and there is a Jewish Menora in the White house, the Washington State Capitol building and the University of Washington Campus "Red Square", and New York City's TImes Square - to the exclusion of other religious symbols - if we eliminate the Christian prayer in the Senate - can we off all the Jewish religious symbols in public places - Im for that .. separation of church and state right ?

Answer 3

Christianity has NOT been "established as our National religion". However, it WAS established on Judeo-Christian prfinciples because that is who founded this great nation. BUT, it was written in our major documents that ALL peoples who come to this country have the inalienable right to worship as they please -- or not to worship if that is the case.

Do you feally feel threatened by a Hindu offering prayer in the Senate? Surely you grieve our founding fathers who fought for that very right. We Christians do not have a monopoly on prayer in any place -- in any situation.

I am a non-threatened Catholic.

Answer 4

Never.

"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion..."

Article 11, Treaty of Tripoli, ratified 1797

Answer 5

We've never had an established National Religion in the US. Some people are just morons.

Answer 6

It wasn't. In fact, the founders went to great lengths to PREVENT any such favoritism.

Any decent high-school American history class can tell you that much, and the founders left a great deal of writings behind that tell us how they felt about it.

We are not a Christian nation, and were never intended to be.

Answer 7

America does not have a national religion. Never did have.

Answer 8

america doesn't have a national religion. our founding fathers were actually atheists. we are simply free to practice religion without being persecuted by our government.


and remember this: the only true americans are living on a reservations, and their forefathers were killed by christians.

Answer 9

Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never.
Whoever claims this is a 'Christian Nation', I daresay, isn't truly American. More research must be done. See atheism in http://about.com and look up Christian Nation

Answer 10

it never was. chech out the 1797 treaty of tripoli.

if the US was founded in 1776 then the treaty was only 21 years old when it was written