AMERICA WAS NOT FOUNDED ON CHRISTIANITY
Essay by WannaKooky

A Christian once said that the United States of America "was founded on... certain principles, trusting in God, and His word." These principles, the Christian stated, were based on the "10 Commandments," supposedly written by God on stone tablets to Moses in the Book of Exodus. However, the Constitution of the United States does not state any of the Ten Commandments. It also leaves out the supposed author of the Ten Commandments, God. This is just an inkling of specific details on how the Constitution of the United States is not founded on Christianity or its recognized deity.

Going back to the days before America ratified the Constitution and before its declaration of independence, the land that was once labeled the Thirteen Colonies was practically barren of any European influence before the year of 1587. That year was when a colony was tried to be settled in the land known as Virginia. That settlement was lost, but England vowed to establish a presence in North America. King James I established a Virginia Company. This was divided into the London Company. The London Company granted charters to establish a colony in Virginia. These charters were granted to find gold and to secure land in America. Those aspects were important to England because it would heighten the economy and challenge rivals like Spain and France, who also established colonies in the Americas. This type of colonial establishment was prominent among the Dutch as well. The Dutch established the Dutch West India Company, which chartered land now known as New York and New Jersey. The Swedish West India Company, formed in Sweden, chartered land in present-day Delaware. These charters were given for economic purposes, mostly for land and trading with Indians.

Charles I later granted proprietaries. This allowed a person or group to control the colonial government. These were more reserved to close friends of the king. North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire were proprietaries. All, but Maryland and Pennsylvania, were founded for economic purposes, like land and trading with Indians.

The argument that the colonies were founded on religious freedom or on God is factual on only four of the thirteen colonies. Puritans, seeing huge opposition in England by Charles I, purchased a company and named it Massachusetts Bay Company. It was granted a charter by Charles I to establish a new Christian society and "a city upon a hill," as John Winthrop, first Massachusetts governor, stated. Charles I granted a proprietary to Lord Calvert, who established Maryland for Catholics. He also granted a proprietary to William Penn, who established Pennsylvania for Quakers.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony, run by the Puritans, established a strict government based on the Church and God. They established the colony to freely believe as they wanted without opposition as they did in England. However, this did not mean they would not grant such freedoms to those of other religions and denominations. They drove out Baptists, Quakers, and anyone who disagreed with the set beliefs. Roger Williams disagreed on many issues and believed the Church should be separate from the government. He insisted that there should be a "wall of separation between the garden of the Church and the wilderness of the world." These ideals threatened Puritan beliefs and Williams was forced to leave. He bought land from Indians south of Massachusetts and established Rhode Island. He welcomed Christians and Jews and guaranteed their religious freedom and that the church and government was separate. Puritan intoleration also gave way to ostracized members to establish New Hampshire and Connecticut.

Maryland, founded for Catholics, saw more Protestants moving in. To protect both sects, Maryland adopted the Religious Toleration Act of 1649. This granted religious freedom for any Christian in Maryland.

The Quakers of Pennsylvania stressed equality. They believed anyone and everyone should be treated fairly and equally. Ironically, they were viewed as "radicals." However, they preached toleration for religions and race. They even believed that Indians should be viewed equally, which was not shared by many.

The history of the Thirteen Colonies shows that they were mostly established for economical strengthening of England. Religious freedom as a basis of colonial founding was present, but not abundant as some like to believe and say. Also, some of the religious colonies were founded by escaping religious persecution by a religious-based colony, which believed those who supported religious toleration were "either atheist or a heretic or a hypocrite or at best a captive of some lust." Most of the religious-based colonies stressed toleration and equality and one demanded that religion and government were on different sides of the field.

Some Christians believe God and Christianity are the bedrock principles of the American Revolution and the Constitution of the United States. Many know that the colonies revolt against England was based on misrepresentation and removal of certain freedoms. The Declaration of Independence listed those reasons and other grievances as a result of rebellion. The Constitution guaranteed that a government would guarantee freedoms. However, Christianity is not the basis.

The Declaration of Independence was written mostly by Thomas Jefferson. He was a Deist, who believed there was an all-powerful deity, but that this deity was not that of Christianity and that it did not involve itself in human affairs. Some state that the words "Creator" and "Nature's God" are labeling the Christian God. Those words naming a deity in the Declaration are used to describe the deity of Deism. The Declaration does not mention Jesus, the Holy Spirit or Ghost, or Christianity. The author, Jefferson, practically despised Christianity, going as far as calling the Book of Revelations the "ravings of a maniac."

The Constitution of the United States does not mention God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit or Ghost, or Christianity. For anyone to say that the Constitution is based on the principles of Christianity should realize that any of those beings or concepts would be mentioned, given the supposed reason for its existence. The Constitution violates the Bible and God. The Constitution grants power to the People, not God, in the Preamble. Article VI, Section 2 states that the Constitution is the "supreme Law of the Land," not the Bible or the Ten Commandments. The laws of the Ten Commandments are not listed in the Constitution. Besides, the laws of the Ten Commandments were based in many ancient societies, even before they were written to Moses. The First Amendment guarantees free exercise of religion and does not allow the government to establish a religion or church. Jefferson made an interpretation of the First Amendment to a January 1st, 1802 letter to the Committee of the Danbury Baptist Association calling it a "wall of separation between church and State." James Madison, Father of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, also wrote that "Strongly guarded. . . is the separation between religion and government in the Constitution of the United States."

The Enlightenment Age was the largest contributor to the formation of the Constitution. The Bible does not mention any form of government that establishes an executive, legislative, and judicial branch. That concept of Separation of Powers was formalized by Baron de Montesquieu, and Enlightenment philosopher. John Locke, an English philosopher, believed all were born with natural rights, such as life, liberty, and property. He also believed that a government was needed to protect those rights and that the people have a right to rebel if the government fails to protect their rights or abuse them. That gave basis to the American Revolution. Voltaire, a French philosopher, championed free speech, tolerance, and reason. The Founders established the representative democracy or constitutional republic based on democracy of city-states of Ancient Greece and the republicanism of the Roman Republic. Christianity was practically moot in the founding of the United States, attributing only the fact that most of the Founders were Christians.

The motto "In God We Trust" on American currency and the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance were not added during the founding of the United States. "In God We Trust" was officially recognized by Congress on money in the mid 1950s. This was also the case regarding "under God" in the Pledge, which was officially added. This was based on rising religious fervor in response to the Red Scare heightened by Senator Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy rose fears among many Americans regarding Soviet infiltration in the country. However, God can mean many different forms of deities, such as the god of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Deism, etc.

A lesser-known fact of American history is that a treaty between the United States and Tripoli states that the United States is not founded on Christianity. Officially called the "Treaty of peace and friendship between the United States of America and the Bey and Subjects of Tripoli, of Barbary," most refer to it as simply the Treaty of Tripoli. In Article 11, it states that , "As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.² The treaty swept through ratification in Congress with a unanimous vote and was endorsed by George Washington and John Adams.

The United States possesses a secular-based government. The Constitution of the United States does not recognize Christianity or God at all and states that anyone may believe in any religion. The history of the United States shows that Christianity offered more to affecting the population than it did to establishing a stronghold on government and reason for its establishment. Those who believe the United States of America was founded on Christianity will find that facts will dispute that.