[streetpreacher]

So? This country was not founded as a theocracy, and is still not one today.

"Religion" means religion, not Christian denominations.

Yes, let's just pretend that the majority of the population of the time were not Protestant Christian and did not use the same vernacular. You're right sinkspur; we were clearly a secular humanist state that was big on diversity.

FWIW, ministers like Finney spoke and wrote in the vernacular of the common man.  It wasn't just the ministers and theologians (who in that day had more influence than the Big 3 networks ever did in their heyday); everyone spoke like that.

But I'm sure you're familiar enough with the literature to refute everything I'm saying here.

Sometimes, I think you're just deliberately argumentative. :-)

[sinkspur]

Yes, let's just pretend that the majority of the population of the time were not Protestant Christian and did not use the same vernacular.

There were a few Catholics in there too, pal. And I've read how tolerant the "Protestant Christians" of the time were of Catholics (not very).

We have a Constitution which does not allow discrimination on the basis of religion. If you don't like that, you are free to work to change it.

I wouldn't get my hopes up, though.

[Torie]

The thing our founders were biggest on, deists, episcopaleans, congregationalists, unitarians, presbyterians, etc., it didn't matter much, was respecting individual conscience and beliefs, within an ordered society. That was the seminal idea. Not the advancement of Christianity. Think about it.