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[[Image:76485685i79.jpg|left|thumb|300px|The drafting committee presenting the [[Declaration of Independence]] to the [[Continental Congress]], painted by John Trumbull 1817–1819.]]

[[Image:76485685i79.jpg|left|thumb|300px|The drafting committee presenting the [[Declaration of Independence]] to the [[Continental Congress]], painted by John Trumbull 1817–1819.]]

Between 1776 and 1788, the United States was governed according to the [[Articles of Confederation]]. The Founding Fathers formally established the current structure of the United States by ratification of the [[U.S. Constitution]] in 1788.

 

Between the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the ratification of the [[Constitution]] in 1788, the United States was governed according to the [[Articles of Confederation]].

 

The Founding Fathers formally established the current structure of the United States by ratification of the [[U.S. Constitution]] in 1788.

Since then, that constitution has been the basic governing document.  

Since then, that constitution has been the basic governing document.  

The U.S. is  a predominantly Christian nation.  A Pew Report showed 76% of Republicans, 63% of Democrats,and 67% of independents view the U.S. a Christian nation. [[Humanism#Secular_Humanism|Secular]] categories are the only subgroup in which fewer than a majority sees the U.S. as a Christian country. <ref>[http://pewforum.org/docs/index.php?DocID=153#1 Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life], August 24, 2006.  Retrieved June 7, 2007.</ref>  

The U.S. is  a predominantly Christian nation.  A Pew Report showed 76% of Republicans, 63% of Democrats,and 67% of independents view the U.S. a Christian nation. [[Humanism#Secular_Humanism|Secular]] categories are the only subgroup in which fewer than a majority sees the U.S. as a Christian country. <ref>[http://pewforum.org/docs/index.php?DocID=153#1 Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life], August 24, 2006.  Retrieved June 7, 2007.</ref>  

The [[Declaration of Independence]] acknowledges the existence of a [[God]] when it refers to "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" and says all men "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights."  That statement was inserted by the author,  [[Thomas Jefferson]], whose religious beliefs were somewhat, but not definitively, Deistic.

The [[Declaration of Independence]] acknowledges the existence of a God when it refers to "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" and says all men "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights."  That statement was inserted by the author,  [[Thomas Jefferson]], a Deist.  Most Americans were Protestants; the Anglican Church of England, which had been the eestablished church in several colonies, was disestablished. That is, it was no longer supported by taxes.  Massachusetts and Connecticut later dropped their taxpayer support of the Congregational Church, and the principle of legal separation of church and state became established. [[James Madison]] in 1791 wrote the [[First Amendment]] to the U.S. Constitution, stating "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."  The first clause is referred to as the [[Establishment Clause]], and the second the [[Free Exercise Clause]]. An informal letter that President Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptists, called the First Amendment as "a wall of separation between Church and State."<ref>[http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpre.html Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists], January 1, 1802. Retrieved November 11, 2008.</ref>

 

Many early Americans emigrated because of religious persecution in their home countries.  The American Founding Fathers adhered to various sects of Christianity, including [[Catholicism]], [[Protestantism]], and [[Deism]]. They recognized that [[Judeo-Christian]] tradition in addition to other legal traditions should inform the Constitution.

 

Based upon these beliefs, the Founding Fathers specifically placed into the [[First Amendment]] to the U.S. Constitution a sentence which states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."  The first clause is referred to as the [[Establishment Clause]], and the second the [[Free Exercise Clause]]. Even in contemporary times, citizens often mistakenly insist the First Amendment mandated [[separation of church and state]], which it clearly does not.  It is obvious by the writings and the documents they produced that the Founding Fathers could not even conceptualize (let alone desire) a [[government]] without Christian principles. However, in a letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptists, he himself described the First Amendment as "a wall of separation between Church and State." However, this was just one letter of thousands of pages Jefferson penned, so it cannot be taken to be the sum of his thoughts on the matter.  <ref>[http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpre.html Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists], January 1, 1802. Retrieved November 11, 2008.</ref>

[[Image:Cathedral of the Plains, Kansas.JPG|thumb|Cathedral of the Plains, [[Kansas]].]]

[[Image:Cathedral of the Plains, Kansas.JPG|thumb|Cathedral of the Plains, [[Kansas]].]]

In America today, an individual's party affiliation is at times determined by their personal view of the relationship between religion and government.  Many other social issues, such as [[abortion]], [[euthanasia]], [[freedom of speech]], and [[cloning]] may be based on an individual's religious beliefs, as well as other beliefs.

In recent decades, the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] has used the "[[Lemon test]]" as a means for determining whether or not a particular controversy causes excessive entanglement between government and religion, though in some cases has allowed religious icons (such as [[the Ten Commandments]] display in [[Texas]].<ref> http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=03-1500 </ref>)

==Geographical Expansion==

==Geographical Expansion==