Why did George Washington and the rest of the U.S. founding fathers?

Question

include God in most of the government documents of their time? Why couldn't they grasp the concept of Separation of Church and state? Were they mentally challenged? or are those of today who insist on the concept of Separation of Church and state mentally challenged?

Signed by Washington on October 3, 1789 and entitled "General Thanksgiving," the decree appointed the day "to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God."
Preamble to the Declaration of independence
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

Voice of Liberty: You are the only one who has said what I was looking for....the phrase "Separation of church and state" are NOT in the Constitution!!!

correction....IS not in the Constitution...lol

Answer 1

...The Founders saw no problem with Christian principles hammered and immeshed into our system of laws. They also saw Christianity as superior and an advantage for our country.
...It is incorrect to say that most of the Founders were Deists. Study up on them and you'll find I believe only one or two were Deist - Ben Franklin and perhaps Thomas Jefferson.
...The Pilgrims were also politically incorrect, observe this from the Mayflower Compact:
"We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc., having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith,"
...Similar statements are found in Jamestown, Virginia's documents.
...Gee, for the advancement of the Christian faith" - hold onto to that one, when they tell you all the Pilgrims came here for was "religious freedom".
...There is definite and certain Christian influence in the Founder's documents, and this is what the ACLU, progressive educators, and atheists are trying very hard to remove from history books and from the public arena.

Answer 2

It's hard to fault the founders as a group, particularly since all they knew until Independence was being British subjects. Just creating a radical new kind of government with no monarchy and no state religion was an impressive achievement. But you are right about privately owned central banks and the world banking cartel. And every President who came to realize this and fight against it has had an attempt made on their life or died mysteriously. America should be printing it's own debt free money and not borrowing money from private bankers and paying interest on it. The thing to do now is support Ron Paul and others whose allegiance is to the United States and it's citizens, not the world bankers. The FED has owned every President since Kennedy. And for those who understand exactly what we are up against, try to think enough steps ahead to anticipate problems. Things could get nasty.

Answer 3

There were no atheists back then...

But you notice that they always say "god"....nowhere do they ever mention Jesus, which would have implied that they were speaking of the Christian god. Instead they rely upon the principle of religious freedom using the word "god" as a generalization. Also, the government can make no law endorsing a particular religion, which is in the constitution as well. They left the constitution open ended, with the ability to be changed to evolve with America as needed, because they knew above all else that they didn't know everything...they knew they weren't perfect and change is sometimes necessary.

For rough draft though...I thinkt they did a great job. Imagine if they had been more close minded in their pursuit of a free America.

Answer 4

The Founding Fathers were very much Christians. However they wanted to ensure that anyone (at least anyone white) that lived in the US could practice religion in any way that they saw fit. That is why they added the Establishment Clause into the US Constitution (which basically stated that the US can not show preference for one religion or religion in general). But we always seem to think the Founding Fathers were in complete agreement with each other. I'm sure many of them wanted to see religion more involved with this nation (just like many do today). That is why we see acts that list god.

The definition of the Separation of Church and State has been redefined in the last 50 years. Today we have more atheists, bhuddists, muslims, hindus, jews, etc. Thus having the Christian religion as the standard bearer for the country no longer fits our nation.

Answer 5

The whites excepted the God or Creator part, but not the all men are created equal part , until The Equal Rights Amendment was past almost 200 years later,
Many of these founding Fathers were Slave owners.,so much for all men were created equal, was only meant "all White Men were Created equal" and this was during " The Great American Holocaust" with the slaughter of 11.75 million Native Americans.

Answer 6

The founding fathers wisely separated church and state, but
not the God of the Bible and State.
I Cr 13;8a
Ps 122;6

Answer 7

Most of the Founders were Deists, which is to say they thought the universe had a creator, but that he does not concern himself with the daily lives of humans, and does not directly communicate with humans, either by revelation or by sacred books. They spoke often of God, (Nature's God or the God of Nature), but this was not the God of the bible. They did not deny that there was a person called Jesus, and praised him for his benevolent teachings, but they flatly denied his divinity. Some people speculate that if Charles Darwin had lived a century earlier, the Founding Fathers would have had a basis for accepting naturalistic origins of life, and they would have been atheists. Most of them were stoutly opposed to the bible, and the teachings of Christianity in particular.

Yes, there were Christian men among the Founders. Just as Congress removed Thomas Jefferson's words that condemned the practice of slavery in the colonies, they also altered his wording regarding equal rights. His original wording is : "All men are created equal and independent. From that equal creation they derive rights inherent and inalienable." Congress changed that phrase, increasing its religious overtones: "All men are created equal. They are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights." But we are not governed by the Declaration of Independence-- it is a historical document, not a constitutional one.

Answer 8

Why did they include God? Because they were men of great faith, and they were of the opinion that they could not succeed in their endeavors without the blessings of God. If you read the Declaration, and other writings by Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, Adams and others of that time, you will find mentions of God throughout.

Answer 9

Please point out to me where in the Constitution that it says "Separation of Church and State".

In fact, it doesn't.

The text of the First Amendment itself ONLY prohibits the federal legislature from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion" (the "Establishment Clause") or that prohibit free exercise of religion.

No where does it say that Religion and Government must be separated.

Answer 10

Sure God is mentioned in most documents, but this is a SECULAR nation founded on secular principles.