National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Programs --------- NCC Programs
It was this infatuation with the forbidden pleasures of pagan Roman philosophers that led to our structure of government and its iconography. When such philosophers were speaking of "God" it certainly wasn't that as defined in Torah, but varied from atheism to a confused sort of pantheism. Many of their references to "God" were out of reticence to attack Christianity directly in of fear of reprisal. Many of their parallel references to morality were, instead, cleverly built upon the Roman idea of manly virtue, leaving the listener to believe that they were talking specifically about Christian virtue. That ambiguity has led to a huge number of what are effectively 'God and Country' misquotes.
The best source I can recommend on this history is Peter Gay's massive (1,300pp), readable, and thoroughly documented two-part essay: The Enlightenment: (1) The Rise of Modern Paganism and (2) The Science of Freedom.
The "scientific naturist" thinking common to today's (covertly Satanic) "Green Religion" was founded in the poetic philosophy of Lucretius, who was very influential over Cicero and thence the Founders (although Lucretius was widely read and commended enthusiastically among them at that time).