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Perhaps, but if those who are in power are atheists, why wouldn't they change the laws to enhance their quality of life, even if it comes at the cost of yours?
They would be weak and foolish not to. If they don't, a stronger atheist will replace them.
You are entitled to believe otherwise, but it is merely entitlement.
What laws could atheists change to make their lives better? Why do you believe that atheists are more likely to abuse power than those of faith? History tells us otherwise.
You also seem to equate atheism with some kind of silly misguided view of what I can only guess is some kind of Darwinian evolution. Why?
What laws could atheists change to make their lives better? Why do you believe that atheists are more likely to abuse power than those of faith? History tells us otherwise.
You also seem to equate atheism with some kind of silly misguided view of what I can only guess is some kind of Darwinian evolution. Why?
The government should remain neutral in matters of religion. It shouldn't "promote atheism" but also shouldn't promote Christianity. That is what the Constitution says.
As for abusing power, that is something that happens when you have authoritarian states. It doesn't matter if they are religious or secular.
I'm an atheist so Christianity never meant anything to me and I used to debate it on a religious forum before I found CD. That said, I now appreciate the idea that we are a "christian nation" in light of an alternative being an "islamic nation" because I had never considered the possibility of a religious war before. So yes, I may not be religious but that's because I have the choice not to be Christian.
Christian nationalists can cherry-pick quotes from the Founding Fathers to promote their agenda of turning our government into a theocracy and likewise those who want a secular state have plenty of material to pull from. I personally believe that it's impossible to say "the founding fathers believed this" because there was a greater diversity in belief on religion's role in government in the late 18th century than people on both sides of the argument today want to admit.
However, what does matter is what our founding documents actually say. In 1776 there was no reason to be politically correct so if the founders wanted a Christian society, they could have easily put it in our Constitution. However, here is what we have.
Declaration of Independence: Reference to "nature's God" and a generic "Creator" but no reference to Christianity, Jesus, the Bible, the Church, or anything related specifically to Christianity.
Constitution: It bans religious tests to hold public office. It also guarantees freedom of religion and prevents laws pertaining to establishment of religion. Once again, no mention of Christianity, Jesus, the Bible, etc, etc. The Constitution doesn't even use the word "God."
Articles of Confederation: Also doesn't mention God, the Bible, Jesus, Christianity, etc, etc. It makes one reference to religion, in article III where it says "The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever."
This is not to say that the culture of our country hasn't been heavily influenced by Christianity because it has. However, our nation's laws are not bound to Christianity or its rules and if that is what the founders intended, it would say so in our founding documents.
Good points.
The founding fathers were for the most part pretty well classically educated, and children of the Enlightenment Era. Some were basically Deists (so these did believe in a Supreme Power but not necessarily a Trinitarian Christian one), and sectarianism dismayed them.
The Founding Fathers knew very well how religious fanaticism had torn nations elsewhere apart, and with a population so mixed and diverse in religious backgrounds they knew that religious wars could tear our fledgling nation to shreds. They took a sensible approach then, and it is still sensible for us today.
Those who claim that this nation was founded to be a specifically Christian nation are engaging in historical revisionism for their own purposes.
Those who claim that this nation was founded to be a specifically Christian nation are engaging in historical revisionism for their own purposes.
I agree. I really wonder what the end-game is for these far-right evangelicals. Mass arrests of everyone that doesn't pass their litmus test? Death camps? They want to roll social progress back to before the Civil Rights act of 1964 and school prayer decision in 1963 as well as force people to adhere to Christian traditions and values. They want to shove non-Christian religions into the shadows if not ban them completely. They would probably also go after liberal Christianity i.e. denominations that accept LGBT members. However, the cat is already out of the bag and there is no way they will be able to force it back in with the Constitution as we know it today in place and without extreme coercion.
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