 tommy2balmy says: Although orthodox Christians participated at every stage of the new republic, Deism influenced a majority of the Founders. The movement opposed barriers to moral improvement and to social justice. It stood for rational inquiry, for skepticism about dogma and mystery, and for religious toleration. Many of its adherents advocated universal education, freedom of the press, and separation of church and state. If the nation owes much to the Judeo-Christian tradition, it is also indebted to Deism, a movement of reason and equality that influenced the Founding Fathers to embrace liberal political ideals remarkable for their time. David L. Holmes David L. Holmes is Walter G. Mason Professor of Religious Studies at the College of William and Mary and the author of The Faiths of the Founding Fathers (2006). Great find. Good source, too. Or, you could accept their public confessions and be done with it. Of those 55 Founding Fathers, we know what their sworn public confessions were. Twenty-eight were Episcopalians, eight were Presbyterians, seven were Congregationalists, two were Lutheran, two were Dutch Reformed, two were Methodist, two were Roman Catholic, one is unknown, and only three were deists–Williamson, Wilson, and Franklin. That's what is missing in any religion today, tolerance. Or, you could accept their public confessions and be done with it.You know Wilhelm I could just do that but believe it or not I'd rather consider Professor Holmes' opinion on the matter that is in his area of expertise over your unsubstantiated statement. That's what is missing in any religion today, tolerance.Tolerance is in short supply everywhere as well as the understanding of what tolerance is. In order to tolerate something you must despise, or at least dislike, that which you tolerate. Intolerance requires you to seek out propagandists to substantiate your preconceived notions when the facts can be found quite easily. It is easier to be schooled than it is to be educated. Or, you could accept their public confessions and be done with it.That's a pretty good observation. Another interesting observation is the fact that no matter how many were said to be some form of Christian or Deist, our Founding Fathers through the First Amendment made sure that religion and state be kept separate. So I guess one could also simply read the First Amendment and be done with it. The problem is getting certain people to respect the intent of our Founding Fathers as stated in the Constitution of these United States. Our Constitution derives its authority from The People, not from some unsubstantiated deity hiding behind the clouds. Until that is fully under... |
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