The separation of church and state is one of the United States’ most divisive issues. The Constitution's Bill of Rights states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” To some, this is a mandate for a secular government. For others, its meaning is to prohibit favoring one type of religious belief over another.
The framers of the Constitution were primarily Christian Protestants, and several state constitutions supported specific churches as late as the 1830s. In the 1950s, Congress added “one nation under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance to prove we were a religious nation. Christians still form a clear majority in the United States today, but two hundred years of immigration has widened the spectrum of religious belief in ways that would have been unthinkable to the founders.
Do we best respect our constitutional framework by paying heed to the unity of our Christian heritage, or by respecting our increasing diversity?
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The framers were not strangers to religious persecution. It had been around for thousands of years before the constitution and still exists today. I believe that knowing the strong ties between the church and English government and the bloodshed that it endured, the framers chose to avoid future issues by simply separating themselves from it. At the point this was drafted, they could have also added in provisions for abolishing slavery but didn't. Why? Compromise. If you were to create a national religion, wouldn't some states avoid the republic?
As "Protestant Christians" I find it interesting that the first issue addressed in the Bill of rights was freedom of religion. Modernity has evolved to the point where many might say, "religion... take it or leave it". But the Founding gentleman of these States United recognized the reality of religion and the need to have freedom therein.
I thank God that I live in a country where we can say, "religion... take it or leave it" It is the very best ambient for Christianity to grow. I am not familiar with other religions but for Christianity it is the very best ambient.
When referring to "Protestant Christians" you may or may not be aware that there was one very important (and longest living!) gentleman signer of the Declaration of Independence. The Homorable Charles Carroll of Carrollton, MD. He was notable not only for being the only Catholic Christian to sign the Declaration of Independence; but, although born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he was a very humble and pious man who actually was reticent in coming forward to sign this historically significant document. However Mr. Carroll was persuaded to do so by his peers who deemed him most worthy as co-signer. Unlike the majority of his peer "Signers", Mr. Carroll did not die an untimely death or suffer grave misfortunes, nor did he die without great weath, fame or tortune.
Is the description of the framers of the Constitution (even if we knew precisely who those were; does George Mason count?) as "primarily Christian Protestants" an accurate one? And, if so, does such a broad generalization that lumps New Light Presbyterians and Baptists with Deists and Latitudinarian Anglicans help or hinder our efforts to understand the role religion played in the historical context of the constitutional debate?
Close research of what the framers thought makes it clear that we formed as a secular nation.
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