Free Republic

Many historians call the Founding Fathers "Deists," and many of them were not true Christians -- after all, Thomas Jefferson tore all the miracles out of the Gospels! But judging by the Declaration of Independence, our Founders were more religious than many think: our founding document mentions God no less than four times.This is not to say America was founded as an explicitly Christian nation -- the federal government has never had an established religion. But the Jewish and Christian understandings of God deeply influenced the founding generation, and that influence radiates from the Declaration of Independence.Here are the four...

Why it matters that our democracy trust in GodFATHER ROBERT BARRONI was pleased to see that the United States Supreme Court recently dismissed a suit brought by Michael Newdow, a Sacramento man who wanted to remove the phrase “In God We Trust” from the nation’s coins and paper currency, as well as from the fronts of our public buildings. The tired argument that the gentleman brought forward was that this custom somehow violates the first amendment guarantee that the government shall make no law either establishing an official religion or prohibiting the free exercise of religion in the United...

Presidential historian Michael Beschloss moderates this discussion with members of Congress on the impact of high-speed communications, instantaneous news, and public expectations of quick results on basic constitutional principles such as "separation of powers" and "federalism." House Majority Whip Roy Blunt and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer participate in the program. The discussion addresses if and how the Founding Fathers’ blueprint for deliberative democracy should be adapted to a world reshaped by communications technology.

President and Mrs. Bush visited the National Archives to view some of our nation's founding documents. In spite of some Senators Behaving Badly (particularly John Kerry and Barbara Boxer), the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted Wednesday to confirm Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state; the nomination now goes to the full Senate for a vote. Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island: one day to go till W2!

In the debates about the use of the word "GOD" in schools, government and elsewhere as being a violation of "Church and State," I have not heard anyone challenging all those who are trying to say that this is a promotion of the Christian religion. All religions that I know about pray to a GOD! God belongs to no denomination or specific faith on an exclusive basis. The Declaration of Independence only states that we should not establish a government religion as the King of England had done; thus, there is no "Church of America" being ruled by our government!...

Political correctness used to be something that most people considered an annoyance, well-adjusted people anyway. Championed by a group of malcontent busybodies who were probably "traumatized" as children and who have developed a passion for sticking their noses into other people's business, political correctness, in its infancy, was about gender pronouns, hyphenated nationalities and stereotypes that only the thin-skinned could possibly consider offensive. Alarmingly, this is not the case anymore. Many have said that we're in the midst of a culture war, a war between those of liberal beliefs and those of conservative beliefs. This is most likely the case...

Contrary to popular opinion, the term “separation of church and state” is found nowhere in the United States Constitution. While the First Amendment clearly forbids the creation of a national denomination, it says nothing about the so-called “separation of church and state.” The term “separation of church and state” was first used by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to the Danbury Baptists in 1801, when he responded to their concerns about state involvement in religion. Jefferson’s letter had nothing to say about limiting public religious expression, but dealt with government’s interference in the public expression of faith. It was U.S....