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Atheists: Constitution Proves U.S. Not a Christian Nation
By Al Stefanelli, Georgia State Director, American Atheists, Inc.
We are governed by a wonderful document called the Constitution, which is a secular document. It begins with “We the people” and contains no mention of God or Christianity. Its only references to religion are exclusionary ones. In fact, Article VI specifically states that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust.”
We are all familiar with the First Amendment, which stats “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The presidential oath of office, the only oath detailed in the Constitution, does not contain the phrase “so help me God” or any requirement to swear on a bible.
So, if we are a Christian nation, then why doesn’t our Constitution say so?
The 1797 Treaty with Tripoli declares that “the government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.” This was written under Washington’s presidency, and approved by the Senate under John Adams.
Many supporters of the “Christian Nation” myth quote the Declaration of Independence. What many of them fail to realize is that we are not governed by the Declaration of Independence. Its sole purpose was to “dissolve the political bands,” not to set up a religious nation. Its authority is based on the idea that “governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,” which is contrary to the biblical concept of Theocracy.
As well, the spiritual references in the Declaration do not endorse Christianity. Thomas Jefferson, its author, was a Deist, and vehemently opposed to orthodox Christianity and the supernatural. You can Google that if you doubt it.
The first colony of English-speaking Europeans (those we refer to as “The Pilgrims“) was Jamestown. It was settled in 1609 for trade, not religious freedom. Less than half of the passengers on the Mayflower were “Pilgrims” seeking out religious freedom.
It wasn’t until more than 150 years later that the secular United States of America was formed. If we are to return to the views of the few original settlers, then we need to adopt to the polytheistic and natural beliefs of the Native Americans, who had already been there for more than 12,000 years.
Also, a majority of the original colonial governments excluded and persecuted members of what they believed to be the “wrong” faith. It was because of this that the authors of our Constitution wanted no part of religious intolerance and bloodshed, which is why our government was specifically established to separate church and state.
The famous quote of Thomas Jefferson, which includes the phrase, “a wall of separation between church and state,” was part of a letter to the Danbury Baptists in 1802. They had asked President Jefferson to explain the First Amendment, to which he replied, “the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions.“ Our government has no right to promulgate religion. The Supreme and lower courts have used Jefferson’s “wall of separation” phrase repeatedly in major decisions upholding neutrality in matters of religion.
In 1971, referencing the Lemon v. Kurtzman decision, the Supreme Court forged what is known as the “Three Part Lemon Test” to determine if a law is permissible under the First-Amendment religion clause.
1) A law must have a secular purpose.
2) It must have a primary effect which neither advances nor inhibits religion.
3) It must avoid excessive entanglement of church and state.
The separation of church and state must be upheld at all costs, because it keeps the majority from pressuring the minority. We already have horrific examples of the logical conclusion of a Theocracy, and I am not just referring to the Islamic nations, but the countless incidents of homosexuals being beaten and killed, legally licensed physicians being murdered and many other discriminatory and criminal offenses against those who do not hold the “right beliefs.”
America is not one nation under God, but one nation under a Constitution. The Constitution was specifically amended with the Bill of Rights uphold individual and minority rights. On constitutional matters we do not have majority rule because the majority has no right to tyrannize the minority on matters such as race, gender, or religion. Also whenever a public official uses the office to advance religion, someone is offended. The wisest policy is one of neutrality.
No one is deprived of worship in America. Tax-exempt religious organizations are everywhere. The state has almost no say about private religious beliefs and practices. Our government represents all of the people, no matter what they believe or don’t believe, and it is supported by dollars from all taxpayers. Constitutionally speaking, America is neither for nor against religion.
Neutrality offends no one, and protects everyone.
To further insure this stance, in 1868 the 14th Amendment assured that, through “due process“, the entire Bill of Rights applied to the states. No public official, from the governor to the public school employee may violate the human rights embodied in our Constitution. At every level, the government must respect the separation of church and state.
As far as our Pledge of Allegiance, the words, “under God,” did not appear until 1954. It was under McCarthyism when they were inserted, and if you research McCarthyism, you will find that it was not one our shining moments as a nation. Likewise, “In God We Trust” was absent from paper currency before 1956.
Our original motto chosen by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson, is E Pluribus Unum (“Of Many, One“), celebrating plurality, not theocracy.
I also remind those who believe that our laws are based on the Ten Commandments that the first four Commandments are religious edicts having nothing to do with law or ethical behavior. Only three (homicide, theft, and perjury) are relevant to current American law, and have existed in cultures long before Moses.
If you think we suffered a recession last year, or a depression in the the 1920′s, then know that if we honored the commandment against “coveting” our entire economy would irrevocably collapse.
Our secular laws are based on the secular humanist principle of “justice for all”. They provide protection against crimes and our civil government enforces them through a secular criminal justice system.
Many religious fanatics are ignoring history, law and fairness to turn America into a Christian nation. Fundamentalist Christians would like nothing more than to impose their narrow-minded morality on the rest of us. They seek to resist women’s rights, freedom for religious minorities and unbelievers, gay and lesbian rights and civil rights for all. History shows us that only harm comes of uniting church and state and if we ignore history we are only doomed to repeat it.
America has never been a Christian nation. We are a free nation and we would do good to Remember Baker’s Laws:
Baker’s First Law: Anyone who claims to know the will of God or possess His favor is trying to use you.
Baker’s Second Law: An organization that takes your money and lies to you does not have your best interests at heart.
Caveat Emptor…
The United States may be a nation with many Christians, but it is not a Christian Nation, and American Atheists, Inc., was founded in 1963 to labor for the American civil liberties of atheists and the total, absolute separation of government and religion. We have always been crystal clear about what we do, how we do it and why we do it. We don’t fight “against” anything, we fight “for” the very secular United States Constitution. It has been that way since we won “Murray vs. Curlett’” which began in 1959, and effectively removed public prayer from American public schools.
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Comments
Great article
Great article
Jerome McCollom
People who claim America is a
People who claim America is a christian nation know about as much about history as creationists know about science!
I loathe god, denounce the holy ghost, reject the salvation of jesus, and I encourage others to do the same" - LightBringer ........"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest" - Diderot
Why are so many scientist
Why are so many scientist changing from evolution to creation?
Exactly who in the scientific
Exactly who in the scientific community is "changing from evolution to creation"?
I've been thinking. Unless we
I've been thinking. Unless we are willing to conclude that the 1892 Supreme Court was totally ignorant or completely deceptive, we must admit that America is a Christian nation, and nothing in the U.S. Constitution changes that. "Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of The Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian…This is a Christian nation”
- United States Supreme Court Decision in Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States, 1892
That is plain simple English. I understand this case was about bringing in a preacher from England. But the Quote is "STILL" there. When you try to change the meaning you just show your bias. This can still be a Christian nation without everyone in it being christian.
@ no name...Read some
@ no name...Read some American History, your totally ignorant.
Chuck
I'm going to go with the 1892
I'm going to go with the 1892 Supreme Court as being totally ignorant. Just because somebody says it is or isn't a christian nation doesn't make it so. Demographics are changing all the time, and people are realizing that science and reason always trumps superstition and mythology. It's just a matter of time before we become a predominantly agnostic nation. At any rate, this country is influenced far more by secular humanism than christianity. Besides, if we were a christian nation this would be a theocracy and we would be no better than Afganistan under taliban rule.
I loathe god, denounce the holy ghost, reject the salvation of jesus, and I encourage others to do the same" - LightBringer ........"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest" - Diderot
@ In no way is the USA based
@ In no way is the USA based on Christian principles. Anyone who believes it is is ignorant of the founding Fathers beliefs.
Chuck
I just want to say I enjoy
I just want to say I enjoy being able to discuss our opposing views. without any ill feelings. I believe with all my heart that each person has the freedom to their belief. I spent six years in the Marines to defend that right.
That's the problem. You're
That's the problem. You're not discussing. You can see how badly OV formats your constant quote-mining into unreadable Wall-of-Text blocks, but you keep spamming your Arguments from Authority anyway. It tells me you're not interested in discussion, you're just interested in browbeating people who disagree with you. I for one am shaking the dust off my feet where you're concerned until you present a coherent argument that you can support in your own words instead of copy-pasting whatever cherry-picked quotes you can find to support your preconceptions.
I use quotes of the FOUNDING
I use quotes of the FOUNDING FATHERS because they know more about what they meant than we do.
May God Bless you.
Please study the beliefs of
Please study the beliefs of the founding fathers and their political philosophy. Your totally wrong and showing your ignorance.
Chuck
Magical incantation to you as
Magical incantation to you as well.
The Phrase Separation of
The Phrase Separation of Church and State
Many people think the phrase "Separation of Church and State" is in our Constitution; or maybe our Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments of the Constitution); or maybe the Declaration of Independence. However, it is not found in any of our early government documents.
In 1801 the Danbury (Connecticut) Baptist Association heard that the Congregationalist Church was attempting to become the national denomination. They wrote to Jefferson to object. His response said they needn’t worry because Congress had erected a “wall of separation between church and state.”
Jefferson was speaking of the wall protecting the church from interference by the State (Federal Government) and assuring them that the United States would not sanction one type of religion over another IN AN OFFICIAL AND BINDING WAY.
At the time the Constitution was ratified, several of our states had their own state religion. They did not force people to worship thusly, but the state government did support that particular church. The states later dropped such official standing for churches, but the point was the states would sign the Constitution if they thought the Federal Government would be able to interfere.
So do you think the state
So do you think the state supporting a particular flavor of religion is the state interfering with religion? I think it obviously is. It seems you don't mind as long as it is an entanglement you find beneficial to your own belief system.
No the state should stay out
No the state should stay out of the church business. But not interfere either. There should not be any state sanctioned church. It should be up to each individual as to how they worship or IF they worship. But the state should not hinder me from worship. The constitution says the state is to keep its hand out of the church, but nothing is said about the church keeping out of politics. We should be able to to tell our congregations what we feel the bible says about laws and such. But it is up to the people to vote how they feel. Complete freedom.
The establishment of state
The establishment of state level churches was abolished by the 14th Amendment, which extended Constitutional rights to the states. The phrase "Separation of Church and State" is much older than the letter to the Danbury Baptists and has always been upheld by the SCOTUS as the appropriate standard.
I can agree with that.
I can agree with that.
Certainly the context of
Certainly the context of "Christian nation" has to do with our origins and history, not to any intolerance of other faiths or any requirements that our citizens must be Christian. Most people who support the points I am making would not want to aggressively encourage others into Christian faith (as a Government action). But today there is a marked tendency to think that religion is not allowed in the official public arena. Schools and cities are being sued for doing things that are a part of our history and culture - indeed, for doing things our Founders encouraged. And they are being sued on a supposed Constitutional basis.
our origins for government
our origins for government and the Constitution had nothing to do with Christianity.
Its easy to find just do a Google search you idiot.
Chuck
Continuing the threads about
Continuing the threads about the religious affiliations of our Founding Fathers, here are a few members of the Constitutional Convention.
1. Bedford, Gunning - Funeral oration on the death of Washington: "Now to the triune God, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be ascribed all honor and dominion, forevermore." (Delegate to Constitutional Convention, Signer of Constitution)
2. Blount, William - Member of the Presbyterian Church. Helped draft the Tennessee Constitution, which said, “No person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil department of this State.” (Delegate to Constitutional Convention, Signer of Constitution)
3. Brearly, David - A warden of St. Michael's Church, a compiler of the Protestant Episcopal Prayer Book, and a delegate to the Episcopal General Convention in 1786 (Delegate to Constitutional Convention, Signer of Constitution)
4. Broom, Jacob - Writing to his son: "[D]on't forget to be a Christian. I have said much to you on this head and I hope an indelible impression is made. " (Delegate to Constitutional Convention, Signer of Constitution)
5. Dickinson, John - From his will: "To my Creator I resign myself, humbly confiding in His goodness and in His mercy through Jesus Christ for the events of eternity." (Delegate to Constitutional Convention, Signer of Constitution)
6. Franklin, Benjamin - Considered much more a Deist than a Christian. He was nonetheless a follower of the Bible, and said: "I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth -- God Governs in the Affairs of Men, And if a Sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, Is it possible that an empire can rise without His aid?...Except the Lord build the house, They labor in vain who build it." (Delegate to Constitutional Convention, Signer of Constitution)
7. Gorham, Nathaniel - A Congregationalist who helped write the Massachusett's Constitution, which required this in the oath for office: "...I believe the Christian religion, and have a firm persuasion of its truth." (Delegate to Constitutional Convention, Signer of Constitution)
8. Hamilton, Alexander - Proposed formation of the Christian Constitutional Society to spread Christian government around the world. After the Constitutional Convention of 1787, he stated: "For my own part, I sincerely esteem it a system which without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interests." - from Diffine, D.P., One Nation Under God - How Close a Separation? (Delegate to Constitutional Convention, Signer of Constitution)
9. Johnson, William Samuel - Speaking as President of Columbia University to the first graduating class after the Revolutionary War: "Remember, too, that you are the redeemed of the Lord, that you are bought with a price, even the inestimable price of the precious blood of the Son of God." (Delegate to Constitutional Convention, Signer of Constitution)
10. King, Rufus - Selected as manager of the American Bible Society. In a speech made before the Senate at the time Missouri was petitioning for statehood, he said: "I hold that all laws or compacts imposing any such condition [as involuntary servitude] upon any human being are absolutely void because contrary to the law of nature, which is the law of God." (Delegate to Constitutional Convention, Signer of Constitution)
Bassett, Richard -
Bassett, Richard - Participated in writing the Constitution of Delaware, which states: "Every person who shall be chosen a member of either house, or appointed to any office or place of trust... shall... make and subscribe the following declaration, to wit: 'I, ____, do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, an din the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed for evermore; and I do acknowledge the holy scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration.'" (Delegate to Constitutional Convention, Signer of Constitution)
Anthony Hooker....Your basic
Anthony Hooker....Your basic premise is wrong there for your entire two post dispatch is TOTALLY WRONG...for the following reasons...................1).....This is not a Christian Nation, nor is it founded on Christian principles.....The Founding Fathers in their wisdom intentionally left religion or its influences out of the Constitution....................2).................The inspiration for the Constitution was the founding Fathers distrust of the church, the philosophy of Enlightenment and the English Magna Carta and John Locke was a Major influence expanding on the contract theory of government advanced by Thomas Hobbes. Locke advanced the principle of consent of the governed in his "Two Treatises of Government"....Also there was Montesquieu, emphasized the need to have balanced forces pushing against each other to prevent tyranny. ... A substantial body of thought had been developed from the literature of republicanism in the United States, including work by John Adams.....................None of the Consititution was in any way taken from the bible and our laws have no relationship to the Ten Commandments...............................................................................The Constitutional convention only accepted the Constitution, had nothing to due with its being developed......................... So you must see your whole argument collapses in the presents of this information.
Chuck
The more research I do the
The more research I do the more I believe America was founded on Biblical principles.
"No Religious Test Shall Ever
"No Religious Test Shall Ever Be Required for Public Office." --United States Constitution.
Do you think a theocracy is a
Do you think a theocracy is a good thing? Has it worked out well in other places?
I think it was God's plan in
I think it was God's plan in Israel. And if the people had obeyed God it would have worked out splendidly. We do not want to force Christianity on anyone. We just hate that the minority can force us to give up things we hold dear. Just look at Madelyn O'Hare, Now God has been outlawed in schools. When schools first started it was so kids could learn about God and how to read. Congress even started the first Bible society in America. They printed the first American English Bible. They held church in the capitol for almost 100 years. This sounds like christian fathers to me.
You want a tyranny of the
You want a tyranny of the majority.
strange how all these deist
strange how all these deist and secular men were almost all members of a church.
Adams, John - Congregationalist and later a Unitarian Adams, Samuel - Congregationalist. Bartlett, Josiah - Bartlett was a Congregationalist. Braxton, Carter - Braxton was a member of the Episcopal church Carroll, Charles - Roman Catholic. Chase, Samuel - Chase was an Episcopalian. Clark, Abraham - Clark was a Presbyterian, Clymer, George - Was both a Quaker and an Episcopalian Ellery, William - Ellery was known as a Congregationalist and a devout Christian Floyd, William - Floyd was a Presbyterian. Gerry, Elbridge - Gerry was an Episcopalian. Gwinnett, Button - Gwinnett was an Episcopalian and a Congregationalist. Hall, Lyman - Hall was a Congregationalist and served as a minister in Connecticut Hancock, John - Hancock was a Congregationalist. Harrison, Benjamin - Harrison was a member of the Episcopal church. Hart, John - Hart was a Presbyterian. Hewes, Joseph - Hewes was a Quaker and an Episcopalian. Heyward, Thomas - Heyward was a member of the Episcopal church Hooper, William - Hooper was an Episcopalian. Hopkins, Stephen - He was a Quaker with an active interest in the church. Hopkinson, Francis - Hopkinson was an Episcopalian. Huntington, Samuel - He was a Congregationalist. Jefferson, Thomas - Jefferson was probably best called a Deist Lee, Francis Lightfoot - Lee was an Anglican and a devout Christian Lee, Richard Henry - Lee was an Anglican and known as a sincere Christian. Lewis, Francis - Lewis was an Episcopalian. Livingston, Philip - Livingston was a Presbyterian Lynch, Thomas - Member of the Episcopal Church Madison, James - Member of the Episcopal Church McKean, Thomas - McKean was a member of the Presbyterian Church. Middleton, Arthur - Member of the Episcopal Church Morris, Lewis - Morris was an Episcopalian. Morris, Robert - Member of the Episcopal Church Morton, John - Member of the Episcopal Church Nelson, Thomas Jr. - Nelson was a member of the Episcopal church Paca, William - Paca was an Episcopalian and a consistent Christian Paine, Robert - Paine left Calvinism to become a Unitarian. Penn, John - Penn was a member of the Episcopalian church. Read, George - Read was an Episcopalian. Rodney, Caesar - Rodney was an Episcopalian. Rush, Benjamin - Rush was a Presbyterian. Ross, George - Ross was an Anglican Rutledge, Edwards - Rutledge was an Anglican Smith, James - Smith was a Presbyterian Stockton, Richard - Stockton was a Presbyterian. Stone, Thomas - Stone was an Episcopalian Taylor, George - Taylor was a Presbyterian Thornton, Matthew - Thornton was a member of the Presbyterian Church Walton, George - Walton was an Episcopalian. Whipple, William (uncertain) Williams, William - Williams was a Congregationalist Witherspoon, John - Witherspoon was a Presbyterian. Wolcott, Oliver - He was a Congregationalist Wythe, George - Wythe was a member of the Episcopal church.
Politicians know it is in
Politicians know it is in their best interest to appear somewhat religious. I dare say many of those were doing it mostly for the clout, and maybe for the lolz.
"In the name of the most holy
"In the name of the most holy and undivided Trinity." The heading of the treaty of Paris.
Our founding fathers quoted the bible more than any other book.
"The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God." --Adams wrote this on June 28, 1813, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson.
"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever." --Adams wrote this in a letter to his wife, Abigail, on July 3, 1776.
Thomas Jefferson 3rd U.S. President, Drafter and Signer of the Declaration of Independence
"God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever; That a revolution of the wheel of fortune, a change of situation, is among possible events; that it may become probable by Supernatural influence! The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in that event." --Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII, p. 237.
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here." --The Trumpet Voice of Freedom: Patrick Henry of Virginia, p. iii.
Anthony Hooker....You just
Anthony Hooker....You just dismissed The evidence I presented to you on the development of the Constitution,.....You are a hopeless , ignorant and a bigot...............................................................How dare you bring only your opinion to this discussion, you are the arrogant one.
Chuck
hooker...your mining of
hooker...your mining of quotes to try and support your position are weak...........Thomas Jefferson was a deists and their view of God is dramatically different than the personal a god of Christianity. So when mining quotes look at the context and you won't look so desperate.......................Please refute my claims and evidence that Enlightenment Philosophy was not the main source of the founding fathers inspiration......They had long since rejected Religion as an inspiration.......................So instead of quotes please provide evidence of your position.
Chuck
It seems Hooker wants a
It seems Hooker wants a disentanglement of religion and government when it suits him, and an entanglement when it suits him. It is unclear what exactly he would change about the fundamental way our government works. It appears many like him simply would like a emotional bones thrown their way in order to ensure them that their belief system is officially sanctioned as the truth. This would be a patina of christianity over our public life, which would accomplish very little except making non-christians feel disenfranchised.
may be i'm stupid but i
may be i'm stupid but i thought the men themselves would know more about what they were than someone a couple hundred years later. Up until 1927 there was no argument about the christainity of our founding fathers.
If I grant you that they were
If I grant you that they were all devout christians, then what does their christianity prove about the constitution?
Nothing about the
Nothing about the constitution. But we were a nation several years before the constitution was written. The declaration of independence most assuredly mentions God. I have no problem with saying The constitution does not mention God. I have a problem with lies that take our christian founders beliefs away. There are over 5000 writings that "They themselves" wrote stating they were Christians and that America was founded on Christian principles. I can be a christian and start a company, and never mention God in any of my company papers and still have a company founded on Christian principles if I make my business plan to be based on the Bible. I have not problem with a person not being a christian. What makes me upset is when others try to take away my FREEDOM to "Exercise" my religious beliefs. Take away my "Freedom" of speech to tell others about Christ. I tell others, but I never try to force them to be Christians, that is their free choice. If they tell me they are not interested I leave them alone. That is what a true christian should do. I love people and do not want them to go to hell. But if they choose that, then so be it.
The bible was a popular book
The bible was a popular book among the literate and parts of it distilled some basic moral teachings that had been known since times pre-dating the bible and god's supposed intervention in human affairs. The country was not founded primarily on christian principles because if it had then our system of law would be much different. Without interpretation and twisting so as to strain out the better parts, the bible presents a stark view of reality that, if followed, would present a society no one would like to live in, not even you. The bible has the advantage in this argument of being relatively old, and so anything part of our moral philosophy that overlaps is assumed to come from it, even when it does not. The morality of christians has benefited immensely from secular philosophy, it has moved you into a place where witches are no longer burned in the public square. In the same vein, the progression of humanity has been continually blunted by religion. It is totally asymmetrical. My guess is that your response might be that Hitler (or insert some other tyrant) was an atheist and this proves that atheism was responsible for their actions.
Nobody's denying that there
Nobody's denying that there were Christians of many stripes among the Founding Fathers. But if you'd actually read the CONSTITUTION that they put together, you would see that it's an entirely secular document. The more devout whom you so readily quote were the ones who LOST THE DEBATE.
These folks are simply
These folks are simply capitalizing on the fact that a complex document embedded in a complex and important part of our history can be easily misinterpreted. I could make a shaky case that Orwell's 1984 was in favor of totalitarian regimes. Most people would think I was a bit confused, but I could do it!
What about the treaty of
What about the treaty of Paris. Treaty between America and Great Britain ending war it has the line ""In the name of the most holy and undivided Trinity." in it.
Politicians always exploit
Politicians always exploit the religious sentiments of the population to accomplish various aims. Your argument is nearly as absurd as thinking someone a Christian because they say "God bless you" after someone sneezes.
I'll raise you the Treaty of
I'll raise you the Treaty of Tripoli: "The United States is not in any sense founded upon the Christian religion." Now, you've posted several wall-of-text copypasta screeds from David Barton and his ilk...now, given that you're responding to an essay about the CONSTITUTION, why don't you consider making an argument that has one shred of legitimacy, instead of quote-mining?
It's shortsightedness. They
It's shortsightedness. They want the entanglements they want so long as they feel their religion is the one doing the entangling. If they can do it, then they can't bitch when all other religions want to also. How would that fly? The only thing way they could keep a muslim from offending them is to appeal to a majority rule. if all religions/denominations had their turn every public space would be littered with icons and we'd never get anything done in spite of all the invocations.
Why don't we let the founding
Why don't we let the founding fathers speak for themselves.
John Jay PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS; DIPLOMAT; AUTHOR OF THE FEDERALIST PAPERS; ORIGINAL CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE U. S. SUPREME COURT; GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation, to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.
"The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God." --Adams wrote this on June 28, 1813, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson.
"I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ." --The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, p. 385.
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here." --The Trumpet Voice of Freedom: Patrick Henry of Virginia, p. iii.
Thomas Jefferson 3rd U.S. President, Drafter and Signer of the Declaration of Independence
"God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever; That a revolution of the wheel of fortune, a change of situation, is among possible events; that it may become probable by Supernatural influence! The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in that event." --Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII, p. 237.
"Today’s Christian
"Today’s Christian Constitutionalists are quick to share the framers’ Christian-sounding quotations. Hundreds of books, replete with such quotations, have been compiled, and no one can question that many of them often said the right things regarding Yahweh, His Son, Christianity, and occasionally even His law. But such statements mean nothing by themselves. Thomas Jefferson made Christian-sounding statements, but no one would argue that he was a Christian. Politicians are famous for saying the right things. Two-hundred years from now, Christian historians will be using Christian-sounding statements from Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama to buttress declarations that these men were great Christians.... Recognizing the Bible and Christianity’s influence upon society is not the same as legislating and adjudicating according to Yahweh’s law. One only needs to look at the record to know there has been a dearth of the latter since the Constitution’s ratification. In order to conclude the constitutional framers were Christians, today’s Christian Constitutionalists have severed the framers’ words from their actions. To date, the battle between Christians and secularists over the Constitution has been a war of quotations – and there are plenty to go around for both sides, often from the same framers....
"The only means of determining whether the framers were Christians is to compare their actions to the Word of God:
'Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity [anomian – lawlessness].' (Matthew 7:21-23)
"This is a perfect description of the constitutional framers. Although some of them claimed to be Christians, they openly practiced lawlessness."
For more, see "The Preamble: WE THE PEOPLE vs. YHWH" at http://www.missiontoisrael.org/biblelaw-constitutionalism-pt3.php.
Even if those quotes weren't
Even if those quotes weren't quote mined for your specific purpose, reread the original article: The Constitution makes no reference to religion other than the exclusionary. Contra John Jay, no religious test for public office, and Congress may make no law so much as regarding the establishment of religion in general, let alone one particular religion. As for Jefferson, his writings make it quite clear he considered the New Testament to be corrupt, and the task of separating the laudable doctrines from the superstitious chaff to be as easy as separating "diamonds from dunghills," as he put it.
Since Christianity came
Since Christianity came before the US was founded and it borrowed some relatively good moral preachments and had a wide following; it is easy for a theist to claim that the country is based upon it. The tend to do the same thing with most modern moral philosophies as well. It's like getting in the Rolling Stones face and saying that everything they did is based on Bach. Can't think of a better analogy right now, but perhaps you see my point.
Josiah Bartlett MILITARY
Josiah Bartlett MILITARY OFFICER; SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE; JUDGE; GOVERNOR OF NEW HAMPSHIRE Called on the people of New Hampshire . . . to confess before God their aggravated transgressions and to implore His pardon and forgiveness through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ . . . [t]hat the knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ may be made known to all nations, pure and undefiled religion universally prevail, and the earth be fill with the glory of the Lord.
Elias Boudinot PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS; SIGNED THE PEACE TREATY TO END THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION; FIRST ATTORNEY ADMITTED TO THE U. S. SUPREME COURT BAR; FRAMER OF THE BILL OF RIGHTS; DIRECTOR OF THE U. S. Mint. Let us enter on this important business under the idea that we are Christians on whom the eyes of the world are now turned… Let us earnestly call and beseech Him, for Christ’s sake, to preside in our councils. . . . We can only depend on the all powerful influence of the Spirit of God, Whose Divine aid and assistance it becomes us as a Christian people most devoutly to implore. Therefore I move that some minister of the Gospel be requested to attend this Congress every morning . . . in order to open the meeting with prayer.
Anthony Hooker....Elias
Anthony Hooker....Elias Boudinot.......... did not have anything to do with the Bill of rights. James Madison using some of John Locke's work in "Two Treatises of Government that civil society" wrote the Bill of Rights............... As for an army general and a politician being Christian proves what exactly..
Chuck