Many Religious Right activists have attempted to rewrite history by asserting
that the United States government derived from Christian foundations, that our
Founding Fathers originally aimed for a Christian nation. This idea simply does
not hold to the historical evidence.
Of course many Americans did practice Christianity, but so also did many
believe in deistic philosophy. Indeed, most of our influential Founding Fathers, although
they respected the rights of other religionists, held to deism and Freemasonry tenets rather than to
Christianity.
The U.S. Constitution
The United States Constitution serves as the law of the land for America and
indicates the intent of our Founding Fathers. The Constitution forms a
secular document, and nowhere does it appeal to God, Christianity, Jesus,
or any supreme being. (For those who think the date of the Constitution
contradicts the last sentence, see note 1 at the end.) The U.S. government
derives from people (not God), as it clearly states in the preamble: "We the
people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union...." The
omission of God in the Constitution did not come out of forgetfulness, but
rather out of the Founding Fathers purposeful intentions to keep government
separate from religion.
Although the Constitution does not include the phrase "Separation of Church
& State," neither does it say "Freedom of religion." However, the
Constitution implies both in the 1st Amendment. As to our freedoms, the 1st
Amendment provides exclusionary wording:
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. [bold caps, mine]
Thomas Jefferson made an interpretation of the 1st Amendment to his January
1st, 1802 letter to the Committee of the Danbury Baptist Association calling it
a "wall of separation between church and State." Madison had also written that
"Strongly guarded. . . is the separation between religion and government in the
Constitution of the United States." There existed little controversy about this
interpretation from our Founding Fathers.
If religionists better understood the concept of separation of Church &
State, they would realize that the wall of separation actually protects
their religion. Our secular government allows the free expression of religion
and non-religion. Today, religions flourish in America; we have more churches
than Seven-Elevens.
Although many secular and atheist groups today support and fight for the wall
of separation, this does not mean that they wish to lawfully eliminate religion
from society. On the contrary, you will find no secular or atheist group
attempting to ban Christianity, or any other religion from American society.
Keeping religion separate allows atheists and religionists alike, to practice
their belief systems, regardless how ridiculous they may seem, without
government intervention.
The Declaration of Independence
Many Christian's who think of America as founded upon Christianity usually
present the Declaration of Independence as "proof" of a Christian America.
The reason appears obvious: the Declaration mentions God. (You may notice that
some Christians avoid the Constitution, with its absence of God.)
However, the Declaration of Independence does not represent any law of the
United States. It came before the establishment of our lawful government
(the Constitution). The Declaration aimed at announcing the separation of
America from Great Britain and it listed the various grievances with them. The
Declaration includes the words, "The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen
united States of America." The grievances against Great Britain no longer hold
today, and we have more than thirteen states.
Although the Declaration may have influential power, it may inspire the lofty
thoughts of poets and believers, and judges may mention it in their summations,
it holds no legal power today. It represents a historical document about
rebellious intentions against Great Britain at a time before the formation of
our government.
Of course the Declaration stands as a great political document. Its author
aimed at a future government designed and upheld by people and not based
on a superstitious god or religious monarchy. It observed that all men "are
created equal" meaning that we all have the natural ability of life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness. That "to secure these rights, governments are
instituted among men." Please note that the Declaration says nothing about our
rights secured by Christianity. It bears repeating: "Governments are
instituted among men
."
The pursuit of happiness does not mean a guarantee of happiness, only
that we have the freedom to pursue it. Our Law of the Land incorporates this
freedom of pursuit in the Constitution. We can believe or not believe as we
wish. We may succeed or fail in our pursuit, but our Constitution (and not the
Declaration) protects our unalienable rights in our attempt at happiness.
Moreover, the mentioning of God in the Declaration does not describe the
personal God of Christianity. Thomas Jefferson who held deist beliefs, wrote the
majority of the Declaration. The Declaration describes "the Laws of Nature and
of Nature's God." This nature's view of God agrees with deist philosophy and
might even appeal to those of pantheistical beliefs, but any attempt to use the
Declaration as a support for Christianity will fail for this reason alone.
The Treaty of Tripoli
Unlike most governments of the past, the American Founding Fathers set up a
government divorced from any religion. Their establishment of a secular
government did not require a reflection to themselves of its origin; they knew
this as a ubiquitous unspoken given. However, as the United States delved into
international affairs, few foreign nations knew about the intentions of the U.S.
For this reason, an insight from at a little known but legal document written in
the late 1700s explicitly reveals the secular nature of the U.S. goverenment to
a foreign nation. Officially called the "Treaty of peace and friendship between
the United States of America and the Bey and Subjects of Tripoli, of Barbary,"
most refer to it as simply the Treaty of Tripoli. In Article 11, it states:
"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 tranquillity, of Musselmen; and as the
said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any
Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from
religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing
between the two countries." [bold text, mine]
Click here to see the actual
article 11 of the Treaty
The preliminary treaty began with a signing on 4 November, 1796 (the end of
George Washington's last term as president). Joel Barlow, the American diplomat
served as counsel to Algiers and held responsibility for the treaty
negotiations. Barlow had once served under Washington as a chaplain in the
revolutionary army. He became good friends with Paine, Jefferson, and read
Enlightenment literature. Later he abandoned Christian orthodoxy for rationalism
and became an advocate of secular government. Joel Barlow wrote the original
English version of the treaty, including Amendment 11. Barlow forwarded the
treaty to U.S. legislators for approval in 1797. Timothy Pickering, the
secretary of state, endorsed it and John Adams concurred (now during his
presidency), sending the document on to the Senate. The Senate approved the
treaty on June 7, 1797, and officially ratified by the Senate with John Adams
signature on 10 June, 1797. All during this multi-review process, the wording of
Article 11 never raised the slightest concern. The treaty even became public
through its publication in The Philadelphia Gazette on 17 June 1797.
So here we have a clear admission by the United States in 1797 that our
government did not found itself upon Christianity. Unlike the Declaration of
Independence, this treaty represented U.S. law as all U.S. Treaties do (see the
Constitution, Article VI, Sect.2: "This Constitution, and the laws of the United
States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made,
or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the
supreme law of the land; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby,
anything in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary
notwithstanding.") [Bold text, mine]
Although the Treaty of Tripoli under agreement only lasted a few years and no
longer has legal status, it clearly represented the feelings of our Founding
Fathers at the beginning of the American government.
Common Law
According to the Constitution's 7th Amendment: "In suits at common law. . .
the right of trial by jury shall be preserved; and no fact, tried by a jury,
shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States than according
to the rules of the common law."
Here, many Christians believe that common law came from Christian foundations
and therefore the Constitution derives from it. They use various quotes from
Supreme Court Justices proclaiming that Christianity came as part of the laws of
England, and therefore from its common law heritage.
But one of our principle Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson, elaborated about
the history of common law in his letter to Thomas Cooper on February 10,
1814:
"For we know that the common law is that system of law which was introduced
by the Saxons on their settlement in England, and altered from time to time by
proper legislative authority from that time to the date of Magna Charta, which
terminates the period of the common law. . . This settlement took place about
the middle of the fifth century. But Christianity was not introduced till the
seventh century; the conversion of the first christian king of the Heptarchy
having taken place about the year 598, and that of the last about 686. Here
then, was a space of two hundred years, during which the common law was in
existence, and Christianity no part of it."
". . . if any one chooses to build a doctrine on any law of that period,
supposed to have been lost, it is incumbent on him to prove it to have existed,
and what were its contents. These were so far alterations of the common law, and
became themselves a part of it. But none of these adopt Christianity as a part
of the common law. If, therefore, from the settlement of the Saxons to the
introduction of Christianity among them, that system of religion could not be a
part of the common law, because they were not yet Christians, and if, having
their laws from that period to the close of the common law, we are all able to
find among them no such act of adoption, we may safely affirm (though
contradicted by all the judges and writers on earth) that Christianity neither
is, nor ever was a part of the common law."
In the same letter, Jefferson examined how the error spread about
Christianity and common law. Jefferson realized that a misinterpretation had
occurred with a Latin term by Prisot, "ancien scripture", in reference to
common law history. The term meant "ancient scripture" but people had
incorrectly interpreted it to mean "Holy Scripture," thus spreading the myth
that common law came from the Bible. Jefferson writes:
'Christianity is part of the laws of England,' citing Ventris and Strange ubi
surpa. 4. Blackst. 59. Lord Mansfield qualifies it a little by saying that 'The
essential principles of revealed religion are part of the common law." In the
case of the Chamberlain of London v. Evans, 1767. But he cites no authority, and
leaves us at our peril to find out what, in the opinion of the judge, and
according to the measure of his foot or his faith, are those essential
principles of revealed religion obligatory on us as a part of the common law."
hanging on the same hook, a perverted expression of Priscot's, or on one
another, or nobody."
The Encyclopedia Britannica, also describes the Saxon origin and adds: "The
nature of the new common law was at first much influenced by the principles of
Roman law, but later it developed more and more along independent lines." Also
prominent among the characteristics that derived out of common law include the
institution of the jury, and the right to speedy trial.
For another article on this subject visit The Early America Review: http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/summer97/secular.html
Note 1: The end of the Constitution records the year of its ratification,
"the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven
hundred and Eighty seven." Although, indeed, it uses the word "Lord", it does
not refer to Jesus but rather to the dating method. Incredibly, some Christians
attempt to use this as justification for a Christian derived Constitution. The
term simply conveys a written English form of the Latin, Anno Domini
(AD), which means the year of our Lord (no, it does not mean After Death). This
scripted form served as a common way of dating in the 1700s. The Constitution
also uses many pagan words such as January (from the two-headed Roman god,
Janus), and Sunday (from the word Sunne, which refers to the Saxon Sun
god). Can you imagine the ludicrous position of someone trying to argue for the
justification of a pagan god based Constitution? The same goes to any Christian
who attempts to use a dating convention as an argument against the
Constitution's secular nature, and can only paint himself as naive, or worse, as
dishonest and deceiving. (For a satire on using calendar words to support pagan
Gods, see The United States: A Country founded
on paganism
.)
