A Christian Nation?

If the US was actually founded on christian beliefs, and if our founding fathers were such spiritual and religious men, then why are we a democratic republic, instead of a theocracy?

I have heard from everyone of my christian friends that the US is a christian nation, and how George, Thomas, Ben and friends were all very devout christian men who wanted god in every aspect of our government. But when you start questioning them, not one answer is available...

- Which sect of christianity were the founding fathers?
- Which of the dozen's of sects would be our national religion?
- Why would the founding fathers specifically make the first amendment to the bill of rights contrary to this position?

I have read from various sources that our founding fathers ranged from atheists to deists to theists. The exact numbers are always in dispute, but I don't think their beliefs or their numbers are of importance and I'll tell you why. Most of the founding fathers were educated men. They knew the history of religion in Europe and they knew the short history of their new homeland.

Many of the early settlers were people that were escaping religious persecution by the Church of England. (Imagine that, christians fighting against christians!). You would think that their past would make them more tolerant of other religions in the New World, but sadly that wasn't the case. Once again, the different sects of christ followers would persecute and, in many cases, kill each other for no other reason than being of a different variation of the faith.

The founding fathers knew that allowing religious beliefs to become part of the government would propogate these actions. The government would promote their religion and disregard everyone of contrary beliefs.

The only way to provide religious freedom for all citizens was to ensure that the government was void of any religious allegiance. If an Anglican was president, the Baptists needn't fear being outcast because their dogma differed from the establishment. Many people refer to the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment as the 'atheist loophole'. It seems more to be something that was placed in motion for the protection of believers, to guarantee that regardless of their beliefs, they have the right to practice.

When I asked my christian friend how you can tell if someone is a true christian? Is it by their professing to be a christian, or is it by their actions? He said that many will profess to be christian but in reality are not. A more accurate method would be by their actions. I think that the same measuring stick should apply to our founding fathers and our Constitution/government.



You can yell and scream at the top of your lungs (professing) that the founding fathers and the government are christian, but the actions (the Constitution and Bill of Rights) speak louder than all of your yelling! We were born a secular nation, for the prosperity of all citizens, not just the ones that share the current administrations beliefs, and we are STILL a secular nation!