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Is America A "Christian Nation?"
Was it founded on "Christian Faith?"
These questions came up for me (again!) on another thread, and I thought Id share some of my answers.
At the time of the Revolution, the population of what would become this country were either immigrants from, or the children of immigrants from places where the state controlled the church, and, in some ways, vice versa. In England, there had been the Church of England-which persecuted other sects-the Puritans come to mind, because the Puritans wound up doing the same thing to others in New England. In France thered been the Catholic Church, which persecuted Protestant Hugenots who would emigrate to the U.S.....and so on.
At the time of the Revolution, as near as we can tell, less than 20% of the population of the 13 colonies actually belonged to a church. Part of this might have been due to remoteness. In some places, where people had settled to avoid or escape religious persecution (which became something of an American tradition, but I digress) there might be one church for the town, and all would attend. In others, there might not be any, and in still other places, like New York City, there might be quite a few.
In any case, as has been said time and again, the Founding Fathers might not be recognized by many of the Christians of today as "Christians" themselves-they were, in spite of membership in various churches, often for purely social reasons, mostly deists: they believed that the universe has a Creator, and that he really doesnt care about us at all. They all had mixed and complicated feelings on religion, and churches.
Thomas Jefferson, a Unitarian Universalist, in his original draft of the Declaration of Independence, wrote All men are created equal and independent. From that equal creation they derive rights inherent and inalienable." Congress changed that phrase, increasing its religious overtones: "All men are created equal. They are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights."
Among his many accomplishments, Jefferson compiled an abridged New Testament, one consisting solely of the words of Jesus. He denied the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus, though. Some Jefferson quotes:
James Madison, author of the Constitution and Baptist (interestingly, it was the Baptists who were instrumental in securing the "separation of church and state"), had these things to say:
John Adams, our second President, hero of the Revolution, and sometime Episcopalian, denied the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, and had these things to say:
You can look for yourself, almost all the Founders, Ben Franklin to Aaron Burr to George Washington (who was well known for attending the Episcopal church with his wife in New York, but pointedly getting up from his seat and leaving at the consecration of the Eucharist) go on in a like vein about organized religion, Christianity, and the nature of God. The Founding Fathers, and our country, were products of the European Enlightenment, and free thought-not Christianity, or any other religion.
Was it founded on "Christian Faith?"
These questions came up for me (again!) on another thread, and I thought Id share some of my answers.
At the time of the Revolution, the population of what would become this country were either immigrants from, or the children of immigrants from places where the state controlled the church, and, in some ways, vice versa. In England, there had been the Church of England-which persecuted other sects-the Puritans come to mind, because the Puritans wound up doing the same thing to others in New England. In France thered been the Catholic Church, which persecuted Protestant Hugenots who would emigrate to the U.S.....and so on.
At the time of the Revolution, as near as we can tell, less than 20% of the population of the 13 colonies actually belonged to a church. Part of this might have been due to remoteness. In some places, where people had settled to avoid or escape religious persecution (which became something of an American tradition, but I digress) there might be one church for the town, and all would attend. In others, there might not be any, and in still other places, like New York City, there might be quite a few.
In any case, as has been said time and again, the Founding Fathers might not be recognized by many of the Christians of today as "Christians" themselves-they were, in spite of membership in various churches, often for purely social reasons, mostly deists: they believed that the universe has a Creator, and that he really doesnt care about us at all. They all had mixed and complicated feelings on religion, and churches.
Thomas Jefferson, a Unitarian Universalist, in his original draft of the Declaration of Independence, wrote All men are created equal and independent. From that equal creation they derive rights inherent and inalienable." Congress changed that phrase, increasing its religious overtones: "All men are created equal. They are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights."
Among his many accomplishments, Jefferson compiled an abridged New Testament, one consisting solely of the words of Jesus. He denied the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus, though. Some Jefferson quotes:
James Madison, author of the Constitution and Baptist (interestingly, it was the Baptists who were instrumental in securing the "separation of church and state"), had these things to say:
John Adams, our second President, hero of the Revolution, and sometime Episcopalian, denied the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, and had these things to say:
You can look for yourself, almost all the Founders, Ben Franklin to Aaron Burr to George Washington (who was well known for attending the Episcopal church with his wife in New York, but pointedly getting up from his seat and leaving at the consecration of the Eucharist) go on in a like vein about organized religion, Christianity, and the nature of God. The Founding Fathers, and our country, were products of the European Enlightenment, and free thought-not Christianity, or any other religion.
