My familiarity with the Bill of Rights is very healthy, thankyouverymuch.
I am tempted to say that the Founding Fathers were naive in not defining "religion". That they should have known what islam is. It is bastardization of the concept of a nation. Clearly it is not a religion in the commonly understood way.
The only explanation I can imagine is that in the Founding Fathers day, Islam was clearly and obviously a joke; not to be taken seriously, and only a fool would cite it as anything serious, religion or otherwise.
Read everything you can get your hands on about dar al Islam and dar al Harb. That defines your religion for you.
The first edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica was published in 1771. It has a beautifully un-PC entry on islam, or as it was referred to then, mahometans. Here is a brief excerpt. Wish I had time to transcribe the whole thing:
...he also repeated to her( Khadijah, his wife ) a passage which he pretended had been revealed to him of the ministry of the angel...
A choice of words and phrasing sure to enrage the current incarnation of the so-called religion.
Well, I can see that you have your mind made up on this, and no amount of talking on my part will change it. We will just have to leave it here, then, because I don't agree with you.
BTW, I am sorry if I offended you with my reference to the First Amendment, but it seemed to me that you were ignoring it...it appears that you are, since you think the Founding Fathers were naive. I cannot agree with you on that, either.
Have a good day, and Merry Christmas. Perhaps we can talk again on a different topic.
"The first edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica was published in 1771. It has a beautifully un-PC entry on islam, or as it was referred to then, mahometans. Here is a brief excerpt. Wish I had time to transcribe the whole thing..."
Do you have this edition on CD-ROM or on the original stone tablets? (reverent, non-blasphemous grin)....Would LOVE a CD, let me know if they're for sale.