The fall of the Roman empire was caused by royal families falling apart. After this Constantine used Christianity as a way to establish other empires. Britian was formed and based on Christianity. High taxes on the rich to supplement the poor and forgiving people who committed crimes and disallowed life sentencing all the way up to a free health care system. Lets face it Jesus was a friend of Tax collectors and sinners a prostitute and heavy wine drinkers :P
In what way has the US used Christianity to build their country? After all they did rebel against the British because they thought they were a bunch of tea drinking gold wearing fruit flies who were obsessed with taxing.
?The Government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion." - The Treaty of Tripoli, Article 11, written during the administration of President George Washington, signed by President John Adams, and unanimously approved by the Senate in 1797
"It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God and to obey His will". -- George Washington
"God in His Providence has given us a Christian Nation...and IT BEHOOVES US TO PREFER AND SELECT CHRISTIANS TO RULE OVER US". - John Jay ...First Chief Justice of Supreme Court of the United States.
" We stake the whole future history of this nation upon the ability of its people to govern & control themselves according to the 10 Commandments". -- James Madison ...Chief Archetect of the US Constistution and 4Th Pres. of US.
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by coreligionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ." - Patrick Henry
So why should we believe clueless atheists that are trying to convince us otherwise? I choose to believe our Founding Fathers and reject the atheists who are trying to re-write history to suit their own selfish agenda.
"America was founded as a Christian Nation according to John Adams: "The highest history of the American revolution is this:It connected in ONE INDISSOLUABLE BOND the principles of civil government with the principles of CHRISTIANITY". -- John Adam - 2ND President of the U S
"God in His providence has given us a CHRISTIAN NATION....and it behooves us as Christians to prefer and to select CHRISTIANS to rule over us". - John Jay - First Supreme Court Justice of the United States
" The American nation from its first settlement at Jamestown to this hour is BASED UPON and permeated BY THE PRINCIPLES OF THE BIBLE". Supreme Court Justice David Joseph Breiver (1837-1910)
New England was formed by Calvinists (Puritans, Pilgrims, Separatists) who were Protestant. They went to the New World to have more religious freedom as the government in England rejected their ideals and wasn't okay with their beliefs, also many of the Calvinists wanted to reform the Church of England, and obviously England wouldn't allow that. Residents in New England towns were basically all members of the church and only church members could vote. Also, the Great Awakening occurred which did take some emphasis off the the traditional churches but still spread Christianity, as traveling preachers went around and scared people so they would be terrified of going to hell. However, in the southern part of the US it was a lot less religious as the people came to those colonies for the purpose of gaining revenue, mainly from slave labor evident by the many plantations that were there. So yes, the foundations of America are intertwined with Christianity.
No, but the founding fathers were Christians. They did not want to force their religion on anyone so they created the treaty of Tripoli.
However, I do not think they thought their country would be over run with atheists and Muslims.
Well it sure would seem so. Christians came to the New World to escape religious persecution.
Here is a short list of cities named after Catholic Christians:
St. Paul, Mn
St. Louis, Ms
Corpus Christi, TX (Feast of the Eucharist)
Mount St. Helen, OR
St. Petersburg, Fl
St. Charles, LA
St. John, LA
St. Benard, LA
St. James, LA
St. Tammany, LA
San Antonio, TX
San Diego, CA
San Juan Capistrano, Ca
Santa Ana, CA
Santa Barbara, CA
San Clementie, CA
Santa Monica, CA
Santa Clara, CA
San Francisco, CA
San Luis Obisbo, CA
Santa Cruz, CA
St. Bernard, OH
St. Clairsville, OH
St. Marys, OH
Sorry to all the History deniers, the list speaks louder than your illusions.
The founders created a secular, constitutional republic, with separation of church and state, and freedom of (and from) religion. It's values were derived not from some "holy" book, but from British Common Law, which predated the "introduction" of Christianity to Britain. There is nothing in the U.S. Constitution about creating a "christian nation."
The U.S. Constitution mentions religion only in the negative: no religious test for government employees, no government-imposed religion. The founders understood that the imposition of religion is antithetical to individual liberty and freedom. There can be no freedom of religion if anyone is allowed to impose their religious beliefs on others.
The Declaration of Independence is often mentioned by those claiming the U.S. is a "christian nation," however, the Declaration is not *the* founding document, or even *a* founding document. The U.S did not exist at the time of the writing of the Declaration. The United States was created when the U.S. Constitution was ratified, and *it* is the *only* document that counts.
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"We continually hear how this nation was founded as a 'Christian' nation and that our forefathers certainly intended that the Judeo-Christian heritage of the United States be enshrined. Nothing could be further from the truth. This argument is not new, Jefferson and the other founders wrestled at length with this question. And luckily they were literate men and wrote down their thoughts and discussions."
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"Among the Founders were Deists, Unitarians and those who merely hoped for a life after death, the latter admitting that no physical evidence existed to prove eternal perpetuity.
"Many of the Founders were religiously unorthodox. Some had religious views that were doubtful or ambiguous. Others detested organized religion.
"A few Christian fundamentalists attempt to convince us to return to the Christianity of early America, yet according to the historian, Robert T. Handy, 'No more than 10 percent-- probably less-- of Americans in 1800 were members of congregations.'
"The Founding Fathers, also, rarely practiced Christian orthodoxy. Although they supported the free exercise of any religion, they understood the dangers of religion. Most of them believed in deism and attended Freemasonry lodges. According to John J. Robinson, 'Freemasonry had been a powerful force for religious freedom.' Freemasons took seriously the principle that men should worship according to their own conscious. Masonry welcomed anyone from any religion or non-religion, as long as they believed in a Supreme Being. Washington, Franklin, Hancock, Hamilton, Lafayette, and many others accepted Freemasonry."
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http://www.nobeliefs.com/Tripoli.htm
[Excerpt]
"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."
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"The primary leaders of the founding fathers of our nation were not Bible-believing Christians; they were deists including: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Thomas Paine, Ethan Allen, James Monroe"
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"Thirteen governments [of the original states] thus founded on the natural authority of the people alone, without a pretense of miracle or mystery, and which are destined to spread over the northern part of that whole quarter of the globe, are a great point gained in favor of the rights of mankind." - John Adams
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What Do You Know About The Separation of State and Church? [Quiz]
http://www.ffrf.org/quiz/ffrfquiz.php
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"The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be established, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience be in any manner, or on any pretense, infringed.'' - James Madison
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Was America founded on Christianity?
