Is America a "Christian Nation?"
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Where is religion and God mentioned in the Constitution?
The United States Government is founded on The Constitution. That document defines and determines the nature and intent of the structure of the country's ruling body.
Nowhere in the Constitution is "God" mentioned.
Nowhere in the Constitution is "Jesus" or "Christianity" or any specific type of religion or belief system mentioned. Surely if the entire nation was founded on Christianity, if that were the maker's intent, they would have mentioned it. Instead, it's exactly the opposite. The founding fathers made it quite clear the government was secular.
The only reference to religion in the main body of the Constitution is in Article VI which is explicitly secular in nature:
- "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
Furthermore the First Amendment to the Constitution makes another secular statement:
- "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ..."
The Constitution is un-ambiguous when it comes to suggesting that no religious qualification is needed to serve in government, and government shall in no way endorse (nor prohibit) the establishment or exercise of religion.
What our founding fathers had to say about religion
The argument that our country is a "Christian Nation" is pretty easy to disprove. A pretty common argument involves mention of the "In God We Trust" phrase which appears on both our paper and coin currencies. Of course, this phrase didn't appear on the coins until the late 1800s, and not on the the bills until the 1950s.
In addition, many of our founding fathers were not Christians. Some quotes from those clever folks:
John Adams
"God is an essence that we know nothing of. Until this awful blasphemy is got rid of, there will never be any liberal science in the world."
George Washington
"Religious controversies are always productive of more acrimony and irreconcilable hatreds than those which spring from any other cause. Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by the difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought most to be depreciated. I was in hopes that the enlightened and liberal policy, which has marked the present age, would at least have reconciled Christians of every denomination so far that we should never again see the religious disputes carried to such a pitch as to endanger the peace of society." -- letter to Edward Newenham, 1792
Benjamin Franklin
"In the affairs of the world, men are saved, not by faith, but by the lack of it."
Thomas Jefferson
"Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise." - letter to Wm. Bradford, April 1, 1774
"I have recently been examining all the known superstitions of the world, and do not find in our particular superstition (Christianity) one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology."
“Christianity is the most perverted system ever shone to man.”
"Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear."
“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state.”
The Treaty of Tripoli
"As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion,--as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen,--and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mohammedan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever interrupt the harmony existing between the two countries."
What Leading Scientists Say About The Bible
Bill Nye
"The biblical verse Genesis 1:16 reads: “God made two great light, the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. The sun, the 'greater light,' is but one of countless stars and that the 'lesser light' is the moon, which really is not a light at all, rather a reflector of light."
The Christian Majority
Some Christians claim that because the majority of people in America are Christian, America is a Christian Nation. However this argument has many holes in it. For example, does that mean that because there are a majority of women in America, America is a female Nation?
External Links
In accordance with the Treaty of Tripoli, and the ambitions of egalitarianism, both religiously and politically, the founders of the United States of America made quite clear the Religious equality that they sought shall never be infringed upon. To attempt to counter-act the religious freedom constituted by the first amendment is treason to the United States of America, an act quite often committed by Christians.
See Also
- America is not a Christian nation
- Our godless Constitution
- A nation of Christians is not a Christian nation
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