Since we no longer allow much in the way of religious discussion in our classrooms -- in this pinnacle of freedom, it may not be so obvious what this all means. So here is a quick history lesson. In the early-mid 1500's during the reign of King Henry VIII of England, there was a rift between the King and Pope Clement VII. At the time Catholicism was the Christian religion. The reformations that brought about protestant religions had not yet started. Around this same time Martin Luther was discovering what he considered to be atrocious behavior by the church and published his 95 theses.
Henry wanted a divorce from his first wife -- most of that part of the story is well known -- and was willing to do pretty much anything to make it happen. He also had some religious reformists serving on his privy council. This culminated in the rising of the Church of England, which was essentially forced upon you if you lived in England - you could opt for a beheading instead like Sir Thomas More. Meanwhile reform was afoot elsewhere by the followers of John Calvin and Martin Luther.
Fast forward now to the first born daughter of Henry VIII, who would eventually become Queen of England. She earned the nickname Bloody Mary because of the slaughter that took place in the name of converting England back to Catholicism (nearly 300 burned at the stake for heresy in only 5 years). Upon her death, her sister, Henry's other daughter Elizabeth came to power and brought peace back to England and the Anglican Church. It was King James (yes that King James, of Bible Version fame) who was Presbyterian, and rejected much of the "purification" philosophies of the reformers, who finally pushed the Pilgrims over the edge and prompted them to leave England.
So, the Pilgrims left England to escape the combination of Church and State (King James and the Church of England). The Puritans were Calvinists, and they were angry with King James as well, so they broke rank for pretty much the same reasons. The rest of the settlers starting with Jamestown (i.e. King James' Town) were sent here by England to colonize the new land. This was all about colonization, and had nothing to do with religion.
So when someone says this country was founded on religion, bear in mind it was very much founded on FREEDOM OF RELIGION, which should not be confused with a specific religion itself. If you want to go down that road, it was certainly not any denomination that would hoist the King James Version of the Holy Bible proudly into the air.
History should tell us that we do not want to go down the road of faith-based legislature. Unfortunately, every election year I'm reminded of how so many in this country want to mix the two. I fear that one day we will allow too much co-mingling and bring about a multitude of problems. Granted, we will likely never get to the state of capital punishment over religious beliefs. However, those who push their religious agenda need to realize that it works both ways. What if someone was trying to force you to face Mecca while saying your beloved prayers in school?
