If this country wasn't founded on Christian principles, what was it founded on?

Question

I'm talking about the United States.

Answer 1

It was founded by people running away from taxes and persecution by religious zealots. Sound familiar?

Answer 2

This country was founded on the concept of liberty, as expressed by the philosophies of John Stuart Mills, John Locke, and other political thinkers of the time. While they attributed their ideas to God Given rights they believed that organized religion had no place in goverment and that the government should be ruled by secular rule of law. The ultimate goal of government was to be the preservation of individual liberties, including but not only for each person to pursue their own personal religous beliefs without state control or endorsement. Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and the other founding fathers were highly critical religous figures attempting to inject themselves into the political process. Then, as now, what actually constitutes "Christian" principals was hotly debated among all the denominations and all the founding fathers had different views as to what these principles were, which is why Religion was made an individual matter by the Constitution. The founding fathers would roll in their graves if they knew the extent to which Christian Fundamentalist had managed to hijack U.S. goverment institutions.

Answer 3

This country was founded on the backs of thousands of dead men who sacrificed everything to get out from under the unjust tax system imposed on the colonies by England. The men came mostly from the farms and the small towns with the largest contingency coming from New England states. Most were average men, some were wealthy as was George Washington for example.

The country was not founded by Christians to gain religous freedom. If you do your homework here you will see that all citizens of the colonies were quite free to practice their religion as they liked, Christians and Jews. And, they were free not to practice any religion at all.

Answer 4

Its true that it was founded on Christian priciples, but the principoles followed by those Christians are not the same as today. If they had felyt that religion should be part of government the framers of the constitution could have very easily included that in the constitution. They could have called for Christianity to be the official religion, Selected christians symbols for the american flag, The Great Seal, etc.....but they didnt. Even though most of the settlers of early america were Christions, they were from many different different sects......None of them wanted the beliefs of another Sect to foisted on them.


In God we Trust didnt appear on money until the 1864 two cent piece....and wasnt on paper cuurency until 1957

Answer 5

The words of the Treaty of Tripoli (1796) directly contradict any such claim. Just a handful of years after the Constitution was written, Congress said that "the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion". (Article 11 of the Treaty).

As if it weren't enough that most of the Founders were Deists, not Christians, and that the word "God" doesn't appear anywhere in the Constitution.

This country was founded on a desire to be free from religious persecution, which is why Article VI of the Constitution prohibits religion from being used as a litmus test for any public office.

Answer 6

founded, Hmm! people came here in some cases to get out from under the oppression they suffered in their mother land,. Others came because they may have committed a crime in their Mother Country, and were sent here as indentured servants, other were dragged from their homes, to be sold as slaves, and some heard the call that there was gold in them there hills. And predominately , the areas they came from years ago we're mostly Christian in their belief. So, that was the religion of those who chose to worship.

Answer 7

The priniple of the enlightenment. Rationality. Not that god and religion are excluded, but that the natural universe can be understtod through investigation and reason. Also, coming from a european tradition of religous intolerance, they wanted to create an environment in which rationality and critical though could co-exist with spiritual life in a way to ensure the progress of knowledge and expanded happiness of our people. They feared religous tyrrany and the darkening of the light of reason by religous dogmatists and extremists.....

Answer 8

I remember Benjamin Franklin saying something to the effect that revolutions are the results of 50% improvisation and 50% comprimise. So, I don't think you could say the country was founded on any specific principles. They just did what worked at the time.

Answer 9

thanks for a wonderful question , it damned sure was not founded on some idiot who says he don't believe in god or some strange thing no one understands, this country was founded by men who had a bible under one arm and a rifle over the other, and a lot of ****, who fought overwhelming odds to become a nation, some times I do think they should have put in the Constitution no atheist allowed. I think it was Pickney who wrote a letter to congress and signed by Washington, Jefferson, Gwinnett, Franklin and Adams wanting to never allow Jew's to immigrate to America as they knew what they would do , a copy of the letter was available at the Washington institute, but, for some reason it was never voted on ,

Answer 10

Enlightenment philosophy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment

and Classical Liberalism (laissez-faire)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_liberalism

Answer 11

Most of the founding father's admittedly believed in a god or higher power but they rejected any kind of formal religious institution. They were known to be Deists and that's what this country was founded on.