The fairest argument that can be made is that these men were, like all men, a product of their time. They lived in a very religious time, towards the tail end of the era when your religion was usually defined by who your king was.
There is really no question that these men were motivated by many different influences, some religious but also some not religious, such as the belief in "natural law" and the innate right of individuals to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". The Bible had been around for centuries, it took the vision of men like Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Paine, and many other great men to forge this new creation called "The United States of America".
To argue that the founding fathers were devout believers is as dishonest as claiming that they were all athiests. The truth is that they were men of their era, a era deeply influenced by religion and religious practices. Their writings, thoughts and comments reflect that reality.
Their primary intent was not to create a nation that was Christian, their primary intent was to create a nation that was free, where men could choose to believe or not believe however they wished without being molested by the state.
This is problem for people to understand?
Yes, some of them were
Or were they primarily Deists, who only acknowledged the existence of a distant, impersonal god?
Yes, some of them were
Why is it so hard to accept both statements can be true.
Men change or modify their belief systems their entire lives as they learn and mature.
This is such a pointless agrument
For the most part Yes indeed!
The above should settle the question, on whether or not America was founded as a Christian nation.
Well, not quite. The founders were, for the most part, Christians (followers of Christ)of that there can be NO doubt. It was however, NEVER their intent to create a Theocracy. Instead they chose to create a FEDERAL REPUBLIC with a system of law which was, and STILL is, ABOLUTELY based on concepts found in the Bible even though the national government currently bears LITTLE resemblance to which they envisioned!
bttt
I have trouble believing this is being debate purely for the academic reparte.