Is the U.S. a Christian Nation?

Originalism has destroyed objectivity in studies of Founders' views

Originalism -- the idea that court decisions should be controlled by the beliefs of the Founders -- has completely destroyed objectivity in the study of the Founders' beliefs. As the result of originalism, the Founders have been portrayed as everything from a bunch of bible-pounding holy-rolling fundies to a bunch of godless blasphemous atheists. Probably the worst example of originalism in regard to the establishment clause is Judge John E. Jones III's Dickinson College commencement speech in which he showed extreme prejudice against Intelligent Design and the Dover school board defendants -- regardless of whether or not ID is a religious concept -- by saying that his Kitzmiller v. Dover decision was based upon his cockamamie notion that the Founders based the establishment clause upon a belief that organized religions are not "true" religions -- he said:

". . .it was my liberal arts education, achieved right here at Dickinson College that provided me with the best ability to handle the rather monumental task of deciding the Dover case . . . .

". . . Ironically, but perhaps fittingly for my purposes today, we see the Founders' ideals quite clearly, among many places, in the Establishment Clause within the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. This of course was the clause that I determined the school board had violated in the Kitzmiller v. Dover case. While legal scholars will continue to debate the appropriate application of that clause to particular facts in individual cases, this much is very clear. The Founders believed that true religion was not something handed down by a church or contained in a Bible, but was to be found through free, rational inquiry. At bottom then, this core set of beliefs led the Founders, who constantly engaged and questioned things, to secure their idea of religious freedom by barring any alliance between church and state."

Contrary to his above statement, that "true religion" idea did not come from his undergraduate education but was a plagiarized quote mine from a book that was published long after he graduated. Judge Jones claims to be a big stickler for judicial precedent but his above interpretation of the establishment clause has no judicial precedent and is in fact contrary to judicial precedent. Judge Jones was required to be neutral towards organized religions but his above statement shows extreme hostility towards them. Judge Jones now defends his Dover decision on the grounds of "judicial independence" and "the rule of law."

The Founders probably did not want the establishment clause to be misused to attack scientific or pseudoscientific ideas that some people don't like, so if we are going to follow the Founders' wishes, we should follow that one.