Declaration Of Independence Vs Religion

David Barton’s Original Intent: The Courts, The Constitution, and Religion, breaks down the significance of how religion was intended in the First Amendment and its effect on the phrase, “Separation of Church and State.” Barton well illustrates how the founding fathers incorporated the position of religion into the First Amendment. Barton explains how the House Judiciary Committee believes, “The founders did respect other religions; however, they neither promoted pluralism nor intended that the First Amendment do so” (175). They continue to discuss how the founding fathers were all Christians and they expect it to remain that way in the lives of the citizens. In Barton’s views of the First Amendment, he believes it has changed dramastically

The freedom of religion is important to us because it lets us learn our religion freely so we don't have to worry about the country saying. “We are going to only have the religion of the church of England.” or something like that. “ In some instances, they have been seen to erect a spiritual tyranny on the ruins of the Civil authority; in many instances, they have been seen upholding the thrones of political tyranny; in no instance have they been the guardians of the liberties of the people.”(THE ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE: A CHECK ON RELIGIOUS TYRANNY) This talks about how different religions were getting spiritual tyranny. The people didn't have liberties and were forced to follow one religion or they would’ve been criticised. “For him, America was not a “Christian nation,” but rather should recognize the equality of all believers, whether “Jews, Turks, Pagans [or] Christians.” “Government should protect every man in thinking and speak freely, and see that one does not abuse another.” He proposed an amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution in 1794 because of the “evils . . .

While writing the constitution the founding fathers said “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” When they said this they

America today is permeated with natural law. Our founders were subscribers to natural law and believed that man’s inner morality can lead to sustaining a civil society. The forefathers of America were from different denominations that ranged from Presbyterian to Catholism. Some were even Deists. Even though their denominations varied, they all united under the idea that their Creator was the source of their reason (Levin 2009, 26). The result of these beliefs produced a religious liberty throughout the country. That liberty still stands today. Natural law, contrary to the thoughts of its non-supporters, does not make a country into a theocracy. Since God’s laws are universal, the creed of a person does not change the fact that they entitled to their God-given rights. The founders were extremely foresighted because they acknowledged that liberty is inseparable from religious liberty (Levin 2009, 29). Another example of how natural law is in America’s founding is the right for citizens to disobey man-made laws that tyrannical in nature. All laws that are not given by the consent of the governed have the potential to be overthrown. America’s Declaration of Independence even says that the people should go as far as overthrowing the government if it becomes too powerful (Levin

The very first amendment, added to the Constitution in 1791, contains guarantees of freedom of religion. According to Michael Kessler, “faith is the free movement of will”, which ties into the freedom of expression. You can willingly express your faith in the United States without the prosecution of the government. All of the Founders did believe that freedom of religion was important. Establishment clause and the free exercise clause give different opportunities of those who believe or practice a specific religion. Also, there are reasons for and not placing limitations on the exercise of one’s beliefs.

On December 15, 1791, the first ten bill of rights which are the first ten amendments to the constitution went into effect. The first amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress grievance”. This prohibits the government from establishing a religion. To Americans it is important to maintain their civil rights.

The Founding Fathers firmly believed that their new nation should have freedom of religion since it is something that the United States should be founded on. They clearly believed that it was important to protect freedom of religion because it was included in the Constitution under the First and Fourteenth Amendment. The Constitution and the Amendments are not the only things to prove that the Founders wanted to protect freedom of religion. The Free-Exercise and the Establishment Clause from the first amendment both deal with religion but the Free Exercise Clause deals with the belief of an action and the Establishment Clause deals with religion/nonreligion.

As a common citizen, I am deeply troubled about the religious rights and liberties protected by the First Amendment, which is the cornerstone of the individual freedoms given by God. The Declaration of Independence acknowledges God the Creator. It declares that ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL and endowed with certain inalienable rights that are among these are life and the pursuit of happiness.

In the United States, religious freedom is a unique right that not all countries allow. The founding fathers instilled this idea although they predominately followed the Christian faith. Several documents and common American morals have Christian roots; some of which include the establishment of God given rights and basic human decency. The words “In God We Trust” on our currency and “One Nation Under God” in our pledge represent the guiding principles that the United States was established on. Although some may believe these words are controversially bias toward Christianity, they are an important part of history. There are multiple references to faith throughout history and several words and concepts are derived from Christian

Since the expression is not in the Constitution and not even fundamentally examined by the composers (e.g., The Federalist Papers), it is interested in wide understanding and error. The main clear proclamation about religion in the Constitution can be found in the First Amendment and we will take a gander at its administrative history later in this article.

When people think of America, they think of a Christian country. Going all the way back to the beginning of the history of North America, many colonists came for religious reasons, most notably the Pilgrims, who landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620 seeking refuge from the persecution by the Church of England because of their separatist beliefs. They saw America as a place where they could settle and be free to worship God how they saw fit. This idea was prevalent in early American history, including in the amending of the Constitution of the United States of America. Freedoms of all kind, including religion, were so important to Americans at the time that they put them in the first amendment of the Bill of Rights: that “Congress

Religious liberty is commonly thought of as an essential element to the American historical tradition. Though Christianity is clearly prevalent in the America’s roots, its exact role in the nation’s foundation is hotly debated; some evidence suggests it was essential to our establishment, while other facts indicate more secular incentives. The exact answer to the question of religion’s part in America’s framing is subjective; however, analyzing its founding settlements – New England, Virginia, and the Southern Colonies – helps provide cogent arguments for both cases.

The reason I say this is because the sole reason why the nation was founded was so our founding father could be diverse and practice their own religion. The First Amendment declares the right of American citizens to practice freedom of religion. This free practice of beliefs supports the argument that self identity through religious exploration was encouraged. That itself would defy rules or laws that would be set in a nation founded around Christian principles. The American population had become very diverse by the time America became founded. However, a large amount of the population of the New England colonies had an Anglican background connected to the Catholic church which held a large amount of power in Europe. Intellectuals who explored the possibilities outside the explanations of the church used to be punished by law of the church in

The suggested separation between church and state in contemporary America is not what the framers of our constitution and our country had in mind as they wrote the words “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” After deconstructing the words, the most insignificant adjective “an,” tells us that the framers wanted to restrain Congress from installing any one religion as the official religion of the state. Those immortal words say nothing about religion informing congress or society on policy, education, or progress. I maintain that the first amendment’s establishment clause regarding religion was to protect citizens’ free exercise of religion from state interests and

My well intended (I say that in attempt to delude myself into believing that their arguments presented are not in any self serving intent.) opponents would have you believe that our country was intended to be a non-secular entity and that if our government was truly “of the people, for the people, by the people” that its laws would be reflective of Christianity as the majority of the American citizenry proclaim a Christian affiliation. This my friends is a falsehood, in fact our founding fathers were more than aware of the implications for the future that this great experiment posed and included safeguards in attempt to prevent the abusive relationship that tends to develop when government policy is tempered with religion, a very wise and brave act considering the fact that many of them were in fact people who attended church and worshipped God. These measurements were so important to them that they outweighed any feelings of contradiction with their personal beliefs. It is not coincidental that nowhere in the constitution is religion mentioned except in exclusionary terms.