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Us constitution and faith
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Reaction Paper FMS 170-02: Freshman Seminar: Social / Behavioral Studies was my favorite course this fall semester. I honestly didn’t know it was originally called God and the Constitution. If I had known that, I probably wouldn’t have taken the class. However, I am so thankful and glad that I did. Going into this course I thought the founders of our country were all Christian. I believed this because I tend to be a narrow-minded person. I am Christian, therefore everyone else is Christian. I understand this isn’t the right way to perceive things. Learning that not only were there founders of the Protestant faith but also a few Quakers and members of the Congregational Church. While in high school, I had the worst government teacher. Mr.
Religion was a key component to the construction of the early American colonial society. It shaped the beliefs and actions of the settlers within the society in many ways. Originally, the newcomers settling on North American land had main motives of owning their own land, increasing their country’s empire and gaining personal profit. Alongside those motives came the sheer desire to spread their religion with whom they encountered in the new land of opportunity. As stated, settlers set out to convert others towards Christianity because they believed freedom was found in worshiping God. Socially, if a person identified as a Christian they automatically were placed higher on the hierarchy. In the same respect, religion and politics at this time were delicately intertwined. Being Christian also meant the government heavily favored you and your peoples since you were to be considered influential in society. In the Maryland Act Concerning Religion (1644), John Winthrop’s Speech to the Massachusetts General Court (1645), the Trial of Anne Hutchinson (1637) and Roger Williams Letter to the Town of Providence (1655) one can notice the striking role religion plays both socially and
In each of these instances those supporting government involvement in, and endorsement of religion have justified their assumptions by referencing the words and beliefs of the founding fathers, most notably Thomas Jefferson. They point out that he, like most of the other founders, was a religious man, and that his writings exposed a conviction America was essentially a Christian nation. After all, wasn’t it Jefferson who spoke of inalienable rights bestowed upon man by God in the Declaration of Independence? A more detailed examination of his beliefs, though, reveals exactly the opposite was the case, as Jefferson was actually a champion of s...
The Protestants who emigrated to America knew from experience of the negative effect the government had on religion when the two were operating together. With the mindset of creating a new perfect holy land, they decided to make sure both church and state worked separately. While Puritans still did everything they could to enforce their beliefs in New England, including exiling those who did not attend church regularly, the core idea of separation of church and state was in the minds of the people. In order to have a country that values the freedom of religion, the church has to be out of any government policy. Any laws that are created around a single church’s faith, even if the majority of the population believes in them, threaten the freedoms of all other denominations. Ame...
Education was greatly influenced by Christianity during 1788 through to 1900. Settlers concerned to leave religious divisions in Britain believed that ties between church and state should be eradicated and that churches be supported by their own followers. Subsequently, with numerous denominations supporting this idea, concerns were partly met by the granting of financial aid to the major religious groups, including the Church of England. Individuals churches used this aid to maximise its religious and educational influence. Governor Bourke later extended the state financial aid and attempted to introduce government schools based on the national system in his native Ireland. However, non-Anglican Protestants, who had formed in 1835 a society for promoting schools where the Bible would be a basis for general education, insisted on its wider use in the proposed national schools than was permitted in the Irish system. Catholics supported the Governor's proposal which further angered the Protestants. The successive alliance between the Anglicans and the Protestant denominations favourably brought about an anti-Catholic move to condemn concessions to a religious minority at the expense of national school systems based on the religious teachings of the Bible.
“In the light of our present day educational systems the idea of Church controlled education may appear to some as inefficient. However, the pioneering done in Virginia under the direction of the Established Church serve4 as a good example for the American educational ideal” (Duffy, 1946).
Started by the Congregationalist, this too was founded as a school to train men for the ministry (Barton, (2004)). This school produced men that signed the Declaration of Independence as well as the Constitution of the United States of America (Barton, (2004)). This school knew and practiced the belief that God’s Word was of utmost importance in education.
Fea, John. Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?: A Historical Introduction. 1st ed. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011.
On April 30, 1789, George Washington became the United Stated of America first president. When he took the oath he asked that the Bible be opened to Deuteronomy 28 and after the oath he added, “So help me God.” (1)This is only one example in my opinion of how I believe our nation was founded on Christian principles. The nation’s capital is filled with religious monuments and religious imagery yet, we as a nation look to these structures as a political homage.
There are many different opinions regarding the idea that the United States is a Christian nation. After reading the Church book, however, I believe it is obvious that our country was not in fact founded on Christianity. Even though many religious right groups insist our laws should enforce the doctrines of Protestant Christianity. The documents written by our founding fathers say otherwise. The U.S. Constitution has no mention of Christianity or Jesus Christ, and is evidence within itself that our country was not founded as a Christian nation.
Overall, when looking at the American Revolution and the actors who played a role in its creation, it is plain to see that religion had an impact and influential stance in the founding of the nation. The heart of dissent was entrenched in the colonies before there was a revolution and the practices of religious tolerance, freedom, democracy, and liberty were found in several organizations and churches. It would only be time until the members of the several churches and organizations would bleed over their spiritual justifications into the realm of politics and nation building. The United States owes a lot of praise to the pilgrims and religious founders of this nation, for without their ideals and changes, this country might not be in existence today.
The Constitution reflects our founder’s views of a secular government, protecting the freedom of any belief or unbelief. Some will argue religion, specifically Christianity, played a large role in the creation of this great nation’s government, the United States Constitution; however the facts reveal otherwise. The historian, Robert Middlekauff, observed, "the idea that the Constitution expressed a moral view seems absurd. There were no genuine evangelicals in the Convention, and there were no heated
...an belief system, this author is aware that there are many that follow no religious tradition and would possibly be offended by all types of references to the Christian belief systems, especially if it was being forced upon them every single day in the classroom. This country was based on the Christian belief system. Prevalent in almost every state’s Constitution, a reference to “Almighty God” or “in the year of the Lord” can be found.
In the First Year Seminar (FYS) we learned a multitude of essential skills that we can use to apply for the rest of our college experience, and years down the road. Throughout the first week of class we learned about Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs), essentially they are skills that the students are suppose to know thoroughly by the end of the semester. The six major SLOs that were presented in a majority of FYS classes the first one is access to diverse information through focused research, active discussion and collaboration with peers, this skill is important for college and professional life because it is important that one is able to converse appropriately and knowledgably amongst peers. It is a great skill to have because it shows that a person can work well in a team. The second skill from the SLOs is the ability to separate facts from inferences and relevant from irrelevant information, and explain the limitations of information. This skill is essential to build upon because gaining problem-solving skills one can work through sticky situations. Problem solving skills are great for college and professional life because one can get through tough problems quickly and efficiently, without this skill time is wasted. The third skill from SLO’s is evaluating the credibility, accuracy, and reliability of conclusions drawn from information. This skill is valuable among college and professional life due to the fact that it allows a person to back up their arguments for papers with reliable sources that are credible and accurate that supports the information. Otherwise the argument doesn’t have any supporting evidence to continue their argument to get their point across, if not gained correctly the argument becomes irrelevant in the ...
First off, our nation was found by Christians that embedded their beliefs into their work in founding this Christian nation. The founders added a system of checks and balances from the understanding “…if men were angels, no government would be necessary” (America is a Christian Nation). A majority of the founders were in fact, Christian. Over 80% of the founders held a belief in a denomination, or section under, the Christian Church. There are constitutional religious references such as “In God We Trust” and “…one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” and are considered constitutional because they were accepted by our founding fathers and written into the constitution. These are not even required to be respected but they come across as constitutional.
When the colonists came to America they brought with them their culture and the way they educated their children reflected that. The first colonists were very religious people and their curriculum was very faith-based. It complimented the instruction they received at church and home. As immigrants flooded into the country, life changed dramatically. As the population spread west, the typical family and social dynamics rapidly changed. People became widely dispersed, and the church’s authority and influence was no longer as important. People soon realized the way they were used to educating their children needed to adapt to their new way of life.