I need a quote that states that the United States was founded upon Christian beliefs.?

Question

“On nation under God…” is a fragment out of the Pledge of Allegiance that clearly states that America is a country that founded and based upon Christian beliefs.

this is a fragment from a paper I am writing for school. what i really want is to insert a quote from a historical legal document (preferable the Declaration of Independance) that states that America was founded upon Christian beliefs.

Answer 1

In God we trust is on American currency. The Declaration of Independence states we are "One nation under God". The 1977 1st Continental Congress document declared the "Bible" as the textbook for the new nation of America.

Answer 2

Look at the last paragraph of the Declaration of Independence. Rev. Witherspoon (New Jersey delegate) insisted some mention of the Almighty be in the document.

The word Christian does not appear anywhere. The U. S. was founded on religious freedom from the very beginning. There are lots of acknowledgements of God and a Supreme Being and the Almighty, but it is non-demoninational all the way. Because so many colonists were fleeing religious persecution in their old countries, the founding fathers were very careful about that.

Answer 3

A fragment from the pledge of allegiance has nothing to do with the founding of this nation. I do not think you will be successful with this paper topic.

Answer 4

If you're looking for a quote that the U.S. was founded as a theocracy - you won't find it. If you're looking for evidence that fundamental Christian theology and values plays a role in how our laws and processes were developed - there's plenty.

Any quote you find in the 18th century about religion must be taken in context of the religion/political climate of the time - specifically English history and how England's "official" relationship with Rome and the Church of England plays a role. In short, the religious implications of the U.S. government is more of a reaction to the role religion played on an official level in Europe.

The Dec of Ind clearly states that we have certain unalieble rights that are endowed by our Creator. Though that Creator is not defined in the document.

I believe that by not having an official religion sanctioned by and supported by the government - it actually strengthens religion in the country. This is evidenced by the fact the religion plays a great role in the vast majority of Americans - and marginally so in Europe.

Answer 5

Under God does NOT mean christian this country may have been founded BY christians but they created it for anyone to believe what they wish and NOT be persecuted. NOT on the basis of Christianity

Answer 6

You won't find the word "christian" in any document authored by the "founding fathers" who were deists and who did not identify themselves as Christian. Google: The Christian Nation Myth by Farrell Till.

Answer 7

As far as I am aware, America was founded on the Judeo-christian philosophy, with the ten commandments as its main tenet. Hundreds of thousands of people with totally different belief interpretations call themselves "christians", and it would be chaos if America were to try and satisfy all of them - some of which are totally wacky.

Moreover, "One nation under God" was not ever in the Pledge of Alliegance until just a few decades ago when somebody who was particularly fanatical about his religious beliefs succeeded in having it put in there. It has absolutely no place in the Pledge of Alliegance because this is NOT "one nation under god". It flies in the face of the original wording "One Nation Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for All". Our constitution specifically allows for equal acceptance and equal protection REGARDLESS of any individual's personal belief system, and that includes those who happen not to believe in any God. It is required of all of us that we be good, decent, honest, honorable, law-abiding, responsible citizens of this Country. To suggest that only those of one particular faith are capable of that would be ridiculous, or that only those of that one faith are worthy of being included under the full protective umbrella of this Country's name and flag.

As a matter of fact, it can also be reasonably argued that this country was founded on Slavery, because it is surely a fact that Slave Labor contributed much to the new nation's economy. It might also be mentioned that America was founded upon the oppression, and attempted total elimination of the native American Indian, along with all of his rich heritage and culture. All of which activities were energetically pursued by people declaring their devotion to Christianity. Thankfully as far as the Indians were concerned, they never succeeded to wipe them all out, although for a time they devasted the culture, slaughtered hundreds of thousands of them, and relegated them to miserable third class citizens. Again, all this done by those staunchly and proudly declaring themselves devout participants in the Christian Faith and Beliefs.

Answer 8

If this is a school assignment, sorry, but you have the losing side.

The only legal document which exists is the “Treaty of Tripoli”

It was authored by American diplomat Joel Barlow in 1796, and was sent to the floor of the Senate, June 7, 1797, where it was read aloud in its entirety and unanimously approved. John Adams, having seen the treaty, signed it and proudly proclaimed it to the Nation.

I don’t believe that you can be more authoritative than that since Treaties signed and approved by the Senate are the law of the land. Since this occurred in 1796 all of those participating were alive during the Constitutional Convention and knew what occurred and why.

The Article 11 is the one which most pertains to your question and it reads as follows:

“ Art. 11. As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.”

The phase you have quoted from the flag pledge is a political addition from the cold war era and was added to the pledge 14 June 1954.

The flag pledge came about during the late 1800s from the efforts of the head of circulation department of the popular children’s publication (James B. Upton), “Youth’s Companion.” Through that magazine this individual proposed that children show their love of country and flag by raising funds to purchase flags to fly over schools (not a common practice at that time.) Within a year over 30,000 flags had been purchased and were so flying.

At that time the only pledge used (and that not a great deal) was, “I give my hand and heart to my country, one nation, one language, one flag.”

James B. Upton enlisted the aid of other employees (namely Fancis Bellamy) at the magazine to write a new pledge which was published in the magazine and was taken up by children across the country and it stated, “I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the Republic for which it stands – one Nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

This pledge was subsequently made part of a law passed by the Washington State legislature in 1919.

In 1939 a committee was appointed for historical purposes to determine the true authorship of the pledge. Their unanimous decision gave credit for penning the Pledge of Allegiance” to Francis Bellamy. Others yet contend that Upton was the author.

Subsequently it was felt that the original wording of the pledge could allow new immigrants to the country to mentally be swearing allegiance to their original country. The first National Flag Conference was formed and on 14 June 1923 a change was adopted to have the pledge read as follows: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands – one Nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

This revised pledge was adopted by Congress as part of the National Flag Code in 1942.

During the cold war period and to differentiate the United States from the Soviet Union, the final change was made by adding the “under God” so that it currently reads as follows:

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands – one Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

So you see there is no basis for the Founding of the United States on the Christian Religion and the reference to god in the flag pledge was merely a political statement reflecting the times.

As for finding justification within the bible for both sides of an argument is easy to do, quotes ascribed to the Founders can be used to justify many things. Asserting that they were Christians by citing their quotes is a very iffy undertaking. Most were certainly not Christians and several were deists such as Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine. In fact a pretty good case can be made that Paine was likely an Atheist. For example "Paine's primary work, the "Age of Reason," published in 1794, was a harsh criticism of the Bible and traditional religion. A deistic work which was usually treated as if it were atheistic, in it Paine argued that nature itself was God's only real revelation to humanity. Paine dismissed Christianity as false, dismissed the Bible as false, and condemned many traditional Christian doctrines as fundamentally immoral."

My point is not to prove a point about the Constitution via conclusions from purported quotes of the Founders, but to demonstrate that they were complex individuals not easily defined. Thankfully, as I have pointed out above, the legal documents exist which define our founding, our constitution, our country as not based on religion.

Answer 9

The "under God" part was added in 1954, so you don't have an argument there.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0915montini15.html

Answer 10

It wasn't. The "god" in question is never specified and the constitution enshrines the right to practice any beliefs