The U.S. is NOT a "Christian Nation"

The United States is not a "Christian Nation", as some would have us believe.  We are a secular nation, founded in part by Christians.  Some of the founding fathers were Christians, some were atheists, some were pantheists, some were probably unsure.  All of them, however, shared a common cause and understanding: the need to keep the government OUT of religious matters.


This is the crux of the problem today.  Certain Christian groups have somehow gotten the idea that because some of the founding fathers were Christians, the U.S. must be a Christian nation.  They couldn't be more wrong.  The idea that because some of the founders were Christians, they must have wanted this country to be a Christian nation is not only untrue, it is dangerous for anyone who isn't a Christian - the exact type of thinking that the founding fathers were trying to avoid!  They explicitly left religious mandates out of the Constitution, and for good reason.  They left England to get away from government-mandated religion; they wanted to live in a country where they could think for themselves and practice their chosen faith - or not believe at all - without fear of government intervention.  America is a secular nation.

Sometimes it feels like I'm beating a dead horse with this issue, but it must not be ignored: If the government can make you pray or observe a certain faith, it can also BAN prayer and religion altogether.  Separation of church and state protects religion FROM the U.S. government just as surely as it protects the rights of citizens. If we allow the government to mandate our religion onto others, we are implicitly consenting to the government's ability to mandate other religions - or no religion - onto us.

Here are a couple of well-written articles/posts (written by Christians, no less!) that explain why we must be ever vigilant against ALL attempts to involve the government into religious affairs:

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/apr/22/its-a-clear-cut-issue

What Ms. Kelly doesn't seem to understand is that we 'horrible dirty atheists' support the absolute separation of church and state NO MATTER what side the government takes. I would personally stand up for HER beliefs and rail just as hard for that separation if the government decided to ban religion or Christianity. We don't want the government to BAN religion!!! We simply don't want govt ENDORSING it.  

Take a look at Iran to see what a country with government-mandated religion looks like.  I doubt very much that Christians would want to live under that kind of rule, and yet a lot of them seem to have no problem attempting to cloak the U.S. in Christianity and forcing non-Christians to live by their rules.  If those folks would take a moment to think rationally and try to put themselves in the shoes of someone who doesn't share their beliefs, they might begin to understand why the founding fathers did it the way they did - and got it right.

Another great blog post on the subject:


http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/04/national_day_of_prayer_needs_m.php


This is not a difficult concept to grasp, people just need to think about it rationally. "Do unto others" and all that...