Was America Founded As A Christian Nation Essay

Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? The United States of America, from the nation’s inception to the modern era, has undeniably been influenced by Christianity and its various sects; however, the question remains as to whether or not the country was founded as a Christian nation. The Founding Fathers each exhibited different religious beliefs that helped forge their positions as they forged America. Furthermore, the Founding Fathers did not intend for the country to be a Christian nation, but desired it to be a nation guided by Christian principles, which is evident in George Washington’s emphasis on nationalism, Thomas Jefferson’s desire for the separation between the Church and the State, and John Adams’s desire for religion to promote moral and virtuous citizens. George Washington placed great emphasis on nationalism, and all efforts furthering citizen’s connection to …show more content…
Adams grew up as a Congregationalist from Massachusetts, but, over time, transitioned to Unitarianism in a manner similar to that of Thomas Jefferson. He was strongly anti-Catholic because of the Catholic Church’s political influence, and anti-clerical because of the artificial titles and spiritual authority it gave to men. Convinced that moral happiness was tied to a religious foundation, Adams articulated that “there is no such thing [as morality] without a supposition of a God [and] there is no right or wrong in the universe without the supposition of a moral government and an intellectual and moral governor” . This indicates that Adams believed that the nonexistence of God meant the nonexistence of morality and, consequentially, the nonexistence of the rights and the wrongs, or the virtues; Adams deems such virtues and moralities necessary to govern American citizen’s moral lives and promote the civic activity that he