SPIRIT of 1776: Independence Day PLUS GOD

Yes, America Had a Religious Christian Foundation
The Founders identified themselves as Christians. In 1776, every European American, with the exception of about 2,500 Jews, identified himself or herself as a Christian. Moreover, approximately 98 percent of the colonists were Protestants, with the remaining 1.9 percent being Roman Catholics

​6-7-11, * -- There’s an argument that the USA did not have a Christian foundation.  In short, while America did not have a Christian founding in the sense of creating a theocracy, its founding was deeply shaped by God’s Christian moral truths creating a regime that was hospitable to Christians, but also to practitioners of other religions.

Arguments against the true founding are often framed in the light of the founders’ intentions, but unfortunately, their views are often distorted.

Early colonial laws and constitutions such as the Mayflower Compact, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, and Massachusetts Body of Liberties are filled with language of God and His precepts.

Asserting that the Founders of America were deists [1] often concede that some founders of the USA thought civic authorities should support religion, but argue that this is irrelevant because of the false belief there should be a high wall of separation between church and state was written into the Constitution. [2]

Christian writers such as Peter Marshall, Tim LaHaye & David Barton contend that not only did America have a Christian Founding, but virtually all of the Founders were devout, orthodox Christians who consciously drew from their religious convictions to answer most political questions. 

[Moses is still on the wall of the USA House chamber. [4] For example John Adams was deeply committed to Jesus Christ and the use of Biblical principles in governing the nation. And George Washington if he was alive today, “would freely associate with the Bible-believing branch of evangelical Christianity that is having such a positive influence upon our nation.” [..]

​The founders believed it permissible for the national and state governments to encourage Christianity. Yet the Constitution does not mandate it or a secular polity. We should be wary of jurists, politicians and academics who would strip religion from the public square. The policy of ‘separation of church and state only came from an 1802 letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802. [3]

In conclusion I contend that orthodox Christianity had a very significant influence on America’s founders and this influence is often overlooked. At our peril, we overlook the founders’ insight that the republic requires a moral people and the importance of faith in God - if not indispensable. Such faith may well flourish best without government support, but it should not have to flourish in the face of government hostility. On October 11, 1798  John Adams said:
“Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

[1] Meaning of deist: Someone who believes in a single God who created the world, but does not act to influence events. US Presidents Thomas Jefferson & Abe Lincoln could be described as a Deist.

[2] Mark David Hall, “Faith and the Founders of the American Republic: Distortion and Consensus,” in Faith and Politics here https://www.amazon.com/Founders-American-Republic-Daniel-Dreisbach/dp/0199843333

[3] Thomas Jefferson letter https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/01/jefferson-signs-danbury-letter-1802-1077174#:~:text=1%2C%201802,-In%20the%20words&text=President%20Thomas%20Jefferson%2C%20writing%20to,separation%20between%20church%20and%20state.”
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[4] Moses in the House https://canadafreepress.com/article/is-there-a-moses-in-the-house
 
*Excerpted and adapted full original report from Mark David Hall, Ph.D., Herbert Hoover Professor of Politics at George Fox University, The Heritage Foundation here https://www.heritage.org/political-process/report/did-america-have-christian-founding