Re: Most think founders wanted Christian USA

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Miles Fidelman <mfidelman () meetinghouse net>
Date: September 14, 2007 7:36:25 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] Most think founders wanted Christian USA

Dave,

For IP if you wish:
> From: dewayne () warpspeed com (Dewayne Hendricks)
> [Note:  This item comes from reader Ken DiPietro.  DLH]
>
> "Most Americans believe the nation's founders wrote Christianity  
> into the Constitution, and people are less likely to say freedom to  
> worship covers religious groups they consider extreme, a poll out  
> today finds.
Apropros this topic, I'm in the middle of a fascinating book, "So  
Help me God: The Founding Fathers and the First Great Battle over  
Church and State," by Forrest Church.  (The Author is Minister at the  
UU Church in NY City, with a doctorate from Harvard in history, and a  
very sharp guy - I've had some conversations with him over the years.)

Apparently, the argument over whether we're a Christian country or  
not goes all the way back to the founding fathers, and the first few  
administrations - where the point of view flip-flopped from President  
to President.  What I find particularly interesting is how it was the  
New Englanders (e.g., Adams) who were the ardent promoters of being a  
Christian country, while it was the Virginians (e.g., Jefferson) who  
were the barely religious secularists.  Also of interest was how a  
lot of the arguments were framed in terms of the English model vs.  
the post-revolutionary, enlightenment-inspired French view of the world.

I'm sure I'm not doing the book justice - it's fascinating - buy it,  
or take it out of your local library.

Miles
<https://library.minlib.net/patroninfo/1294298/item&2500713>


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