How Christian Were the Founders?

In today's New York Times Magazine there is an important article by Russell Shorto entitled "How Christian Were The Founders?" The article details the efforts of the Texas School Board to include more references in the Social Studies curriculum to America being a Christian nation and founded by Christians on Christian principles. It is a lengthy article but worth the read.

The article can be found here -

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/magazine/14texbooks-t.html?pagewanted=1&ref=magazine


Here are just a few quotes so you can get a flavor of it:

"..... they hold that the United States was founded by devout Christians and according to biblical precepts.... When they proclaim that the United States is a "Christian nation," they are not referring to the percentage of the population that ticks a certain box in a survey or census but to the country’s roots and the intent of the founders."

"Many of the points that have been incorporated into the guidelines or that have been advanced by board members and their expert advisers slant toward portraying America as having a divinely preordained mission.... The language in the Mayflower Compact... describes the Pilgrims' journey as being "for the Glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith" and thus instills the idea that America was founded as a project for the spread of Christianity. In a book she wrote two years ago, Cynthia Dunbar, a board member... quoted the document and then said, "This is undeniably our past, and it clearly delineates us as a nation intended to be emphatically Christian."

“Many of us recognize that Judeo-Christian principles were the basis of our country and that many of our founding documents had a basis in Scripture. As we try to promote a better understanding of the Constitution, federalism, the separation of the branches of government, the basic rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, I think it will become evident to students that the founders had a religious motivation.”

"In the new guidelines, students taking classes in U.S. government are asked to identify traditions that informed America’s founding, “including Judeo-Christian (especially biblical law),” and to “identify the individuals whose principles of law and government institutions informed the American founding documents,” among whom they include Moses. The idea that the Bible and Mosaic law provided foundations for American law has taken root in Christian teaching about American history."

"In 2008, Cynthia Dunbar published a book called “One Nation Under God,” in which she stated more openly than most of her colleagues have done the argument that the founding of America was an overtly Christian undertaking and laid out what she and others hope to achieve in public schools. “The underlying authority for our constitutional form of government stems directly from biblical precedents,” she writes. “Hence, the only accurate method of ascertaining the intent of the Founding Fathers at the time of our government’s inception comes from a biblical worldview.”

This is just a small sample of what's going on in Texas.

While I'm certainly not an expert on this, here's my take on the notion that America was founded as a "Christian nation" or on Christian principles. Yes, America was founded by men who were Christian, and yes, for many their Christian faith played a large role in their fight for American independence and freedom. But they had varying views and opinions on what that Christianity meant and for many that included the view that their religious beliefs should not be made a part of the new government. And since many of them came to America to escape religious persecution they were intent on granting religious liberty to all, not dictating to anyone what he or she should or shouldn't believe, and most importantly not establishing a national religion or any one particular theological viewpoint.

If anyone wants to read a well-balanced book on this subject I recommend Founding Faith: How Our Founding Fathers Forged a Radical New Approach to Religious Liberty by Steven Waldman.