DAY IN HISTORY- July 4, 1776

America’s 250 Birthday-Freedom For All Is Created

Was America founded to be a Christian nation?

Photo by Lucas on Unsplash

Today we celebrate a group of patriots who had enough of being slaves of a foreign king. They wanted a flexible government which was capable of responding to the needs of the people, not a monarchy. They set up specific guidelines for all people being equal in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. As America celebrates her 250th birthday, we hear much about it being founded in order to have a Christian nation. But was it?

Melding religion with the governmental hierarchy was precisely what prompted religious sects to leave England and make the dangerous voyage to America. They had seen the corruption of kings and religious entities in the name of God. They were very aware of the torture chambers below the royal castles.

So they came to America. The first permanent settlement was established in 1607 in Jamestown Virginia. These first Americans were of Anglican faith, the Church of England. Thirteen years later Pilgrim (Congregational Church) settlers landed in Plymouth, creating a settlement there. These Puritans wanted to be free to follow their religious practices as they saw fit. They melded politics with their religious beliefs and were afraid of any outsiders.

The Quakers, a peace-loving group, began coming to America in 1650. Puritans did everything they could to keep them out. This included banishment, humiliation and intimidation. When that didn’t work to keep the Quakers out of their new American turf, they resorted to torture and imprisonment. The Quakers were passionate about their beliefs, so the conflict escalated. Soon the Puritans resorted to hangings and outright murder of the Quakers.

The jails were filling up with Quakers and hangings became regular spectating sport for the Puritans. The Puritans were very good at scapgoating and “othering” those with different religious views. Clearly freedom of religion meant only for the Puritan religion, the rest of the settlers could just die.

Soon Protestants, Jews and Catholics came to the New World. All of them were very passionate about their own religious beliefs and the freedom to practice those beliefs in America.

It didn’t take long before religious sects were busy trying to convert others to their way of life. While some wanted religion to govern the new colonies of America, experience was already proving deadly to anyone who disagreed on religious principals.

A Puritan man named Roger Williams was removed from Massachusetts in 1635 because he believed religion should not be regulated by the state. He started his own colony in Narragansett Bay as a “shelter for persons distressed of conscience.”

In 1680, King Charles II gave 45,000 square miles of land in Delaware to William Penn. Penn was a Quaker who rejected church rituals and hierarchy. He founded Pennsylvania, which welcomed German Protestants, Lutherans and even Catholics.

In addition to these sects, you had the spiritual beliefs of Native Americans and the thousands of enslaved people who were brought over to America against their wills. Not only did the religious people indoctrinate the Native Americans and slaves, but they also continually fought amongst themselves as who had the “right” religion.

In 1739 George Whitefield came to the colonies. He was an Anglican minister who supported Protestants, Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterian colonies in America. He also inspired women to become more active in religious activities. This didn’t go over well for the Puritans.

From the very beginning of America, it was impossible for the colonists to be united under one religion, even one god. In 1776, Thomas Jefferson had the foresight to write the Declaration of Independence without the inclusion of Christ or God.

Eleven years later, it was against this thriving, independent-minded mixture of beliefs when the first delegates met to deliberate a new form of government. The “founding fathers” were George Washington, Thomas Paine, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay and scientist inventor Benjamin Franklin. All of them came from different religious backgrounds, and some strongly believed God should have no part in creating a system of laws in America. They met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787.

The debates were very intense, as slavery, taxes and states rights were hotly contested arguments. Religion was one of the most disputed arguments as each of the delegates were committed to their own particular set of beliefs. Discussions went on for months and many concessions were made to finally develop a satisfactory 4,200 word Constitution of the United States of America on September 17, 1787.

According to History.com, “They developed a plan that established three branches of national government–executive, legislative and judicial. A system of checks and balances was put into place so that no single branch would have too much authority. The specific powers and responsibilities of each branch were also laid out.” It also included a way to change with the times with a series of amendments.

George Washington was the first to sign the document and 39 others joined him. But it wasn’t ratified until nine of the 13th states also signed off on the new Constitution.

More compromises were needed as each state considered its stake in the new government.

Those who supported the new Constitution became known as Federalists. Those who felt this formation of government gave too much power to the national government, and not enough to the states, were known as anti-Federalists. A newspaper campaign with a series of letters explained the origins of the Constitution to the public, in hopes of its surviving the ratification process. The newly minted Constitution incorporated the ideals of freedom of a new nation with a religious foundation, but a secular design.

The only concession was “under God,” leaving the interpretation purposely vague.

Why is any of this important today?

The freedom to express oneself and follow religious practices was inherent in American history, but also is the separation of religion from the founding of our governmental laws and practices. Religious beliefs and forced beliefs have always created passionate discord, many times creating division, destruction and death. As you can see from the Puritans and the Quakers, our “founding fathers” had already experienced this in early America and wanted our government to be able to rise above to withstand the most steadfast religious beliefs.

They designed the Constitution to embody equal rights of every person, both religious and secular. They designed a living, breathing document which embraced differing opinions and the ability to speak freely. Even back in 1787, the vision of America, the melting pot of people from all cultures and backgrounds, was based on the strength of acceptance of cultural differences.

Today, we have citizens and leaders who openly want to eliminate the Constitution and install a religious-based government. The question is which religion? Which one is the “right” one? History is plagued with atrocities and wars in the name of religion. Our American history is proof enough unchecked religious beliefs will always cause division, murder and the breakdown of society.

Our American government wasn’t based on one religion. We are not, and have never been, a Christian nation-but we have been free to accept the religious practices of us all.

© July 2026 A. Roe

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