2007-12-16 05:29:26 · 13 answers · asked by NHBaritone 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Neither, really.
All the Magna Carta did was give more power to local barons and weaken the king. It wasn't particuarly democratic, it was profoundly aristocratic and oligarchial in nature. Greek democracy died out pretty soon, and is very different to modern representative democracy. Christian heritage also had very little influence: many of the Founding Fathers were Deist, and democracy did not sit well with Christianity at the time.
The real basis is in the Roman Republic and the European Enlightenement.
2007-12-16 05:59:38 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Magna Carta and the Scots Englightenment is what I usually say, with a strong freemason influence. Rule of Law came from Common Law, which came from the Magna Carta. But our structure of separation seems to be Masonic in origin, from what I have read.
2007-12-16 09:54:47 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
A mixture and none of the above.
Many of the values of the government come from the people who founded it. However, those people weren't all Christian. So, some of our basic laws came from some of the basic values of that society, which was mostly Christian.
However, the founders specifically tried to remove the influence of religion on government. That's why the is a prohibition of any religious test for public service. Also, over the years, many of the overtly Christian laws were abandoned, such as the Jim Crowe laws or "blue laws". If you look at the structure of the government's laws, you see some influence by the Common Law of England, but you can also trace its history to Hammarabi's code.
2007-12-16 05:32:27 · answer #3 · answered by nondescript 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The only good thing the US government learned from religion was how to keep it very separate from the government. Having people immigrate to the new world just to escape religious persecution in Europe historically, it doesn't make sense to set up a theocracy to then persecute others who do not believe the same set of dogma of the majority.
2007-12-16 05:41:44 · answer #4 · answered by CC 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The motive for creating the United States was based on Christian Ideals. The 'idea' document (The Declaration of Independence - the one which gives the reasons for breaking away from England) makes this fairly clear.
The 'How to make this country' document (The Constitution) - was based on the other documents (and probably Roman government too).
2007-12-16 05:34:59 · answer #5 · answered by The Non-Apologetic Apologist 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
The Treaty of Tripoli of 1796(?) expressly states this country was not founded on Christianity so if anything it was founded on the Magna Carter and Roman Republicanism.
2007-12-16 05:40:19 · answer #6 · answered by alex e 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Probably the latter, with a healthy dose of Enlightenment-era writings.
2007-12-16 11:54:20 · answer #7 · answered by Surely Funke 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Roman democracy...with Judeo-Christian standards for human rights...the Greeks had a republic...no constitution...
2007-12-16 05:34:36 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
maybe...
wow that made NO sense whatsoever, sorry, just got done burning "popcorn" so i aint thinkin as clearly as possible.
anyway i think since we are a republic, its probably religous freedom, NOT just christian heritage
2007-12-16 05:36:57 · answer #9 · answered by Luzifer 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would like to think it is none of what you mentioned. I would like to think that it is a government by, for and to the people like it was orginally intended. I don't think God is necessary to be inserted into a government for it to be good. Just do right by your peoplel, theat them justly and fairly. Do to them what you would like done to you. Let God take care of the soul and let government take care of the laws.
2007-12-16 05:38:08 · answer #10 · answered by fm 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋