Religious Freedom - The Right's Misinterpretation of the First Amendment; Fourteenth Amendment

Many politicians have arisen stating that the Founding Fathers created - in the United States - a Christian nation.  They say because the Founding Fathers were Christian, they founded the nation based on their beliefs.  Most of them quote the Declaration of Independence - a non-constitutional document.  They say, since the Founding Fathers stated that inalienable rights were granted by the 'Creator', that they clearly meant the Christian God, since all of them were Christian in religious belief.

I have a lot to argue here, but it takes very little effort to counter their claims.  For one thing, our nation has the First Amendment - which was ratified in the Bill of Rights.  The First Amendment states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.  It's the first sentence.  This amendment was ratified by every state.  This law, however, did not restrict states from adopting their own state religion.  Now, at the time, just being Christian wasn't the same thing as religion.  There's some history behind this.

Back in England, and during the colonial periods, religious freedom was not something the Founding Fathers had.  In fact, in much of Christendom, mainly because of the Protestant Reformation, religious freedom was not something practiced.  In England, one could be discriminated against for not practicing Anglican beliefs.  The Puritans, who helped found New England, were ostracized from businesses, legal practice, and lawmaking because they were not Anglican.  They were hated by the populace, and laws respecting Anglicans did not respect them.  To escape it, they created their own state in Massachusetts.  However, they did not allow people who practiced outside of the Puritan faith to attend schools, create business or own land.  They did the exact same thing England did to them to those looking to settle in New England.  

Why do I bring this up?  Because both practices were Christian.  However, their definition of religion is what we would now consider denomination.  In order to avoid this kind of treatment from the federal government - in order to protect the people's right to choose what they believe and practice, the Continental Congress and Constitutional Conventions created this idea of religious freedom so oppression would not happen.  I'm pretty sure that fact is common knowledge.  It would not matter what religion the Founding Fathers were, because Congress could not create laws respecting religion.  

Again, it did not restrict the states from doing so.  Many states chose their religion, and established their states as specific Christian denominations.  However, after the American Civil War, the 14th Amendment was adopted and something within - known as the Equal Protection Clause - stopped the states from adopting religions as a state religion.  The reasoning behind this was that citizens of the state that adopted a specific religion - if they were or were not of that religion - would not be treated equal under the law based on their religious affiliation.

Now, we have people like this woman, and states making sure Muslim law does not infiltrate the government - despite the fact that no laws can respect religion one way or the other.  It astounds me how certain people can call this country a Christian nation when it has never adopted the Christian religion at the federal level.  It has never been allowed to, and for good reason.  Some states refuse to allow Muslim schools to apply for the voucher programs, and make their laws outside the constitution to adopt state religions once more.  It makes me sick to my stomach that these people are so ignorant of their country's past, and the laws that protect even their hard-lined fundamental Christianity.

The reason our country excels, and has done so in the past, is because we allow everyone to have a voice regardless of race, religion, or politics.  These people who choose to voice their opinion about their religion have the freedom to do so.  When they decide to put their religion into law, they are no better than the Muslims in the Middle East who have laws forcing women to cover their bodies from head to toe.  It's the major problem with the Pro-Life argument (yes my personal philosophy is against abortion, but I believe that every woman should have their own choice on the matter); It's the major issue with Gay Rights and DOMA (Religion is the only argument against same-sex marriage and homosexual discrimination - see Leviticus - Old Testament).  

This country was founded by Christians, yes - but it was left open so Christianity would not suppress and oppress the people who held different beliefs.  Even if the country was founded by Christians, the laws they created made it a state of tolerance and individual freedom.  No law can respect one religion over the other, and no law can be created to reward or punish someone for believing in a religion.  By not allowing Muslim schools to apply for school vouchers, they restrict the Muslim practitioners of their community from receiving funds - which directly violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.  The Declaration of Independence makes no statement saying the founders wanted to make a Christian nation - and the Declaration of Independence has no legal impact on the country's lawmaking or law enforcing bodies.  

The art?  Simple - the bible thumping politician who says what he/she needs to say to get elected; People invoking religion for their own benefit, yet refusing to see the message the religious founder deliberated to the people.  Happy ignorance.  It reminds me of a religious parent who forces their beliefs on their children whether the children like it or not.  Some of those children only hold out until they can escape, and some get brainwashed and thump their Bibles right alongside the parent.  There's only one problem here - as a parent, you're free to do such things; As a government or lawmaking body in the United States - you're unconstitutional.