Religion and the U.S. Constitution - 1881 Words

Religion and the U.S. Constitution HIST 121 - American History to 1877 May 2008 THESIS: The Constitution reflects our founder’s views of a secular government, protecting the freedom of any belief or unbelief. Some will argue religion, specifically Christianity, played a large role in the creation of this great nation’s government, the United States Constitution; however the facts reveal otherwise. The historian, Robert Middlekauff, observed, the idea that the Constitution expressed a moral view seems absurd. There were no genuine evangelicals in the Convention, and there were no heated declarations of Christian piety.1 INTRODUCTION: When the Constitution was submitted to the American public, many people†¦show more content†¦In fact, nowhere in the Constitution do we have a single mention of Christianity, God, Jesus, or any Supreme Being. There occurs only two references to religion and they both use exclusionary wording. The 1st Amendment s says, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. . . and in Article VI, Section 3, ...no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. Thomas Jefferson interpreted the 1st Amendment in his famous letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in January 1, 1802: I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and State.5 Some Religious activists try to extric ate the concept of separation between church and State by claiming that those words do not occur in the Constitution. Indeed they do not, but neither does it exactly say freedom of religion, yet the First Amendment implies both. James Madison, perhaps the greatest supporter for separation of church and State, and whom many refer to as the father of the Constitution, also held similar views which he expressed in his letter to EdwardShow MoreRelated Freedom from Religion: Perversion of the U.S. Constitution Essay2416 Words   |  10 PagesIn the two hundred and thirteen years since its ratification, the U.S. Constitution has been the very spine of America—the single-most effective element in the preservation of her sacred liberties. Contained therein are the revolutionary ideals of its framers, influenced by the precepts of Enlightenment and spurred on by their own experiences in the perils of tyrannical oppression. Thus the preservation of America’s sacred freedoms has been the result of a strict adherence to the forefathers’ insightsRead MoreUtopia Vs Constitution1039 Words   |  5 PagesBoth Sir Thomas More’s Utopia and the United States Constitution outline a form of government. 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