You wrote:
“Actually, our nation was founded on the principles of the Anglo-Scottish Enlightenment. Many of our founders (Adams and Jefferson, amongst others) were not fans of the Catholic Church, largely because they wanted to avoid Clerical intrigue and the influence of a powerful clergy on the populace.”
In reality many of the founders were seriously indebted to Hooker. Hooker was indebted to Aquinas. Thus, without even knowing it, many of the Founding Fathers were using Catholic principles without ever knowing it.
All of Western Thought, even that which we today consider post-religious, has been influenced by its Christian/Catholic predecessors, which were in turn (thanks to Augustine) influenced by classical (ie pagan) thought. No philosophy exists in a vacuum.
Hooker? More info please.