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Debate: Did the Founding Fathers intend to apply their personal faith to the nation "As an institution"? (view source)
Revision as of 02:09, September 18, 2008
, 02:09, September 18, 2008→No, they did not intend to establish the U.S.A. as "One nation under God"
:::::That's a strange analogy. Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter as a private citizen to the Danbury Church, yet it is used continually as though it were official policy concerning the separation of church and state, yet the same priviledge seems to be denied to Adams here. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 02:12, 17 September 2008 (EDT)
:::::That's a strange analogy. Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter as a private citizen to the Danbury Church, yet it is used continually as though it were official policy concerning the separation of church and state, yet the same priviledge seems to be denied to Adams here. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 02:12, 17 September 2008 (EDT)
::::::Actually it's not that strange an analogy at all. I read up on the Danbury letter using the links on the [[Thomas Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists|article page]] here, and in the reference from the National Archives there's a nice bit of background. Jefferson wrote to the Church in the capacity of U.S. President, not as a private citizen, and was doing so in response to citizens asking if the First Amendment offered protections from the government imposing the views of one faith/denomination on others. The source even shows Jefferson's text from the working draft of his letter, and explains how his choice of words and the metaphor of a wall separating Church and State were chosen with care. In short, this was President who was intimately involved in the founding of the nation, writing deliberately to emphasize that while the founders were men of God, they founded an institution of government that was secular by intent. --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 21:53, 17 September 2008 (EDT)
::::::Actually it's not that strange an analogy at all. I read up on the Danbury letter using the links on the [[Thomas Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists|article page]] here, and in the reference from the National Archives there's a nice bit of background. Jefferson wrote to the Church in the capacity of U.S. President, not as a private citizen, and was doing so in response to citizens asking if the First Amendment offered protections from the government imposing the views of one faith/denomination on others. The source even shows Jefferson's text from the working draft of his letter, and explains how his choice of words and the metaphor of a wall separating Church and State were chosen with care. In short, this was President who was intimately involved in the founding of the nation, writing deliberately to emphasize that while the founders were men of God, they founded an institution of government that was secular by intent. --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 21:53, 17 September 2008 (EDT)
::::::The govenrment cannot do two things regarding religion: they cannot set up a "national church" much like England did which drove the ''Mayflower'' pilgrims away in 1620; and they cannot set up any law which restricts the free exersize of religion. At best, the government is to remain neutral in the matter. Anyway, this debate caused the creation of the above article, and I think it would be a good idea to post related material on the subject. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 22:09, 17 September 2008 (EDT)