Was America Founded As A Christian Nation Essay

Since the Declaration is not in fact a law, one must look at the actual document that guides the way American government is supposed to act, the Constitution. If the founders had intended to create a Christian nation, then it would follow that their laws would follow in that way. However, this is not the case. In reality, it could not be further from the truth. For example, in Article VI section 3 of the Constitution it

Since before the United States was founded, the ideals of Christianity have been integrated into the government in some way, shape, or form. In the early days of the Colonies, Christianity was the centerfold for all government affairs; however, after the constitution was ratified and deemed effective in the United States, the First Amendment was born. The first amendment states that, “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 of grievances” (source). In the early life of the United States, the

Most people believe that the United States was founded as a Christian nation. After all, our money is emblazoned with “In God We Trust,” our Pledge of Allegiance declares that we are “one nation under God,” and in court we swear to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.” It’s true that the Founders were heavily influenced by Christian ideals. And while the U.S. Constitution prohibits any religious test or requirement for public office, the majority of U.S. presidents have been openly Christian. Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, two of our most famous presidents, however had no formal religious affiliations. Jefferson shunned orthodox Christianity at an early age and cut and pasted together a condensed version of the New Testament, removing most miracles and all references to Jesus’s divinity. He did, however, continue to believe in God as a precise, impersonal creator of the universe and its laws. Lincoln, on the other hand, spoke frequently of God during his presidency but never formally joined a church. Today, academics remain uncertain about whether or not he was a Christian as some aspects of his faith remain a mystery.

Have you ever wondered why people in the American society think any kind of demonstrated behavior is acceptable? The Christian views once instilled in United States citizens have grown sparse today, in comparison to what they once were. Opinions of many people have changed concerning multiple issues. Many founding views were centered on Godly principles as portrayed in the U.S. Constitution, and as well as the Declaration of Independence. As society continues to argue over the inclusion of religion in politics, members of society reap the effects in many areas, particularly in the education system. I strongly agree that the United States was founded as a Christian nation.

There is an age old question about good old America and its foundation that has been debated on for decades that I have the pleasure of touching on today. That question I tend on giving my insight on today which is, was United States was founded as a Christian nation or as something else? In retrospect one can say that America was founded on three documents: The Declaration of Independence, The Paris Peace Treaty of 1783, and the Constitution; however what does that mean to America being a Christian Nation? Well the Declaration of Independence has many references to God, and both the Treaty and the Constitution end with them being sign in the “Year of our Lord”. One would assume this is all evidence that the founded on Christianity, but then I read Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptist. After reviewing the letter’s substance and the reason for him writing the letter it would appear that I’m torn even as I am writing this.

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

This paper is a book critique of The Godless Constitution. The first chapter of the book is titled “Is America a Christian Nation?” and it is an introduction for the rest of the book. In this chapter, the main idea is to open the reader’s mind about that the constitution was created with the idea that religious believes will not influence in the politics of the nation. The authors state that “The principal framers of the American political system wanted no religious parties in national politics” (Kramnick and Moore, 23). Actually, the creation of a constitution without influence of religion was not an act of irreverence. The authors believe that the creation of the constitution was a support to the idea that religion can preserve the civil morality necessary for democracy, without an influence on any political party. The end of the chapter is the description of the following chapters and with a disguise warning that both authors were raise in religious families and they wrote the book with high respect for America’s religious traditions (Kramnick and Moore, 25). The second chapter, called “The Godless Constitution” explains how the different terms to talk about God were taken out and a “no religious test” clause was adopted with little discussion. This clause was a “veritable firestorm” during the ratification debates in several states (Kramnick and Moore, 32). For many people the “no religious test” clause was considered as the gravest defect of the Constitution (Kramnick

Initially, America did not have a Christian foundation in the sense of creating a theocracy. However, it was shaped by Christian moral truths, and the forefathers created a hospitable environment that supported this religion. The relationship linking the state and religion grew strong as most of the people in the nation became Christians. This research paper outlines how Christianity came to be one of the major religions in the United States of America.

The author's main purpose for writing A Myth of a Christian Nation is to explain how the world has claimed to be founded on christian principles but has neglected to see that this is a lie that we as christians and people in society have told ourselves to make it seem like we are “ one nation under God”. Boyd also focuses in on and introducing our role in the kingdom of God vs the kingdom of the world and our role in politics and society.

America was born out of revolution, a revolution to rid the states of an overpowering sovereign from a country where they had no representation. Therefore when writing the constitution the Founding Fathers were careful to avoid a strong centralised monarchical state that they felt would restrict the rights of the people of the United States to practice their religion and cultures freely. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances" [1] This clearly states that there shall be no religious persecution, or any type of institution set up to restrict religion in the United States. America was and is supposed to be a society where everyone is equal no matter what his or her religion on social status

There are inherent problems with basing a racial identity around the religion of your oppressor. Much like in Rome, Christianity was given to African Americans at the beginning of their advent in America to pacify them early. Christianity is an acculturating mechanism that continues to rob these displaced Africans of their own culture and former values even today. The arguments that Christianity can be/has been made into a mechanism of liberation has fallen flat from how many African Americans were willing to stay complacent in the face of revolution because of it – Booker T. Washington and Marcus Garvey included. Martin Luther King did not win over African Americans because he was a pastor, albeit it played a strong part because of the foundations

Religion has played a large role throughout History. Entire nations have been founded on the ideals of one religion or another, and many wars have been fought purely for religious reasons. In fact there are wars still going on that are almost completely religiously motivated. New Religions may form, old religions may die or change, but they will always be a part of our culture and society. Religion always seems to play a large role in the formation of societies and cultures, and the history of the United States is no different from that of the rest of the world. Religion played a major role in the formation of the United States of America. More specifically between 1607 when

What makes a country a religion based nation? The vast majority of our nation is Christians, in fact a survey was taken to determine what percentage of Americans are Christian. As of 2011 roughly around 78% of Americans are Christians. That is over three-fourths of the country believe or practice Christianity. With 78% of Americans believe in Christianity out of 50 states in the Union 11 states are not Christians. Does this number substantiate our country a Christian Nation? The numbers will validate that we are a Christian Nation; however, we have a Constitution that gives us the freedom of religion. If we determine that we are a Christian Nation how we can honestly practice freedom of religion when we determine America to be a Christian

America wastes a lot of time trying to create a democracy completely absent of the moral expectations that our ancestors have put into place. Our founding fathers’ dream of establishing a country in which all people would be accepted has begun to fall. In our attempt to rid our country of a democracy contaminated with any belief in a supreme power, we have rid ourselves of many of our values and morals. Perhaps it is impossible for religion to dominate our political country, but we have misinterpreted the original intent of “separation of church and state” and taken this concept too far.