Christian nation or First Amendment nation?
I am a graduate of Kelseyville High School and was born and raised in Lake County. I would like to respond to Mr. Al Duncan”s article where he stated that he would be “hard-pressed to disprove that this nation was founded on Christian principles.”
It”s really not that hard for him (or anyone) to refute this assumption by reading a document written first by George Washington, then, signed by John Adams and the entire Senate in 1796. I would guess that all those members of the Senate would be considered “Founding Fathers” because the Senate (and the Constitution) was not even a teenager yet.
“?the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.”
Many people know this to be from the Treaty of Tripoli, Article 11. Treaties signed by the President must be ratified by the Senate, and this one was, unanimously, in 1796. The Founders even saw to it that no mention of any Supreme Being exists anywhere in the Constitution
The “Church of the Holy Trinity” court case he mentions was from 1892. In 1947, the Supreme Court superseded that precedent in a case called “Everson vs. Board of Education,” where the Justices quoted Thomas Jefferson”s 1802 letter the Danbury Baptists that a “Wall of Separation” exists between church and state. This country and the Supreme Court can and does evolve over time, like when “Brown vs. Board” overturned “Plessy vs. Ferguson.”
It seems to me that this country was founded more on First Amendment principles. Agreed, Christianity is the most popular religion in this country and we debate the degree of separation between church and state. But, the “spirit” of our First Amendment seems to indicate that all religions should get equal respect, no favorites, especially when it comes to government stuff. While we might exclude dogmas that insist on human sacrifice, there”s no need to “rewrite history” when history can simply speak for itself.
Also, doesn”t it seem like many of the world”s problems, past and present, have stemmed from people saying things like “We”re a Christian/Muslim/Whatever nation and we”re better than you” and “Your God”s miracles sound really absurd and ridiculous, but our God”s miracles are sane and true”?
My teachers at KHS always encouraged me to think for myself and make up my own mind. This is just my opinion, but it could have been written by anybody.
Casey P. Nunes
CSU, Fresno
