The following comes from a man with a lot of common sense, Thomas Paine. Thomas Paine is one of the main founders of the idea of ​​American independence. “I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, the Roman church, the Greek church, the Turkish church, the Protestant church, nor any church that I know of. My mind is my church. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, seem to me to be nothing more than human inventions, established to terrorize and enslave humanity and monopolize power and profit. Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debauches, the cruel and tortuous executions, the incessant vengeance with which more than half the Bible is filled, it would be more consistent to call it the word of a demon than the word of God. It is a story of wickedness. which has served to corrupt and brutalize humanity; and, for my part, I sincerely detest it, as I detest everything that is cruel” These were the thoughts of a man who built the foundation of the United States. Let me ask you this: Does this sound like a man willing to impose Christian values, or any other religious values, on the entire nation? Many religious groups insist that the United States was designed to be officially Christian and that our laws should enforce their version of Christianity. Is this view accurate? Did the founders of our government intend to create a government that gave special recognition to Christianity or any other theology? To answer all these questions, no. The Constitution is a secular document and contains no mention of Christianity or other religions. In fact, the Constitution refers to religion only twice in the First Amendment, which states, "respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," and in Article VI, which prohibits "religious tests" for public office. . Both of these are proof that the country was not officially founded as Christian. The Founding Fathers didn't create a secular government because they didn't like religion. Many were believers themselves. Yet they were well aware of the dangers of church-state union. They had seen firsthand the difficulties of church-state partnerships in Europe. Nothing has changed regarding the truth of Jefferson's feelings and the need to preserve the wall of separation between church and state as of 2016. Religious symbols, icons and phrases – not just Christian, but of any religion – should be kept out from government buildings and organized prayer should be kept outside schools. This protects our freedoms, including the freedom of those who believe in the ideas presented in documents such as the Ten Commandments or the Lotus Sutra. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Those on the Christian right who would tear down this wall of separation are doing themselves a disservice, because the loss of the separation of church and state weakens the government's ability to protect everyone's right to freely practice their religious belief. Of course, it is possible that many on the Christian right do not believe in freedom of religion and instead want America to be a Christian nation (by which they mean their particular brand of Christianity) intolerant of the beliefs of others, be they Buddhist or, Jewish, Unitarian Universalist, Atheist, or whatever. If so, then they do not support freedom of religion and, therefore, they do not support the.