[betty boop]

Or shall we split hairs and claim that christian "heritage" is not the same as Christian "religion"? :)

I wouldn't call it "hair-splitting." The fact is the United States of America does not have an established religion. But that it has a Christian heritage is obvious to anyone who can read the Declaration of Independence and understand what it says.

Do you have some difficulty with the DoI that I might perchance be able to help you with?

[kosta50]

Do you have some difficulty with the DoI that I might perchance be able to help you with?

Yeah, I can't find any refreence to Christ. All I see is a deist document.

[betty boop]

p.s.: To put it another way: John Adams recognized that America is not founded on any particular religion. But that it was founded in a system of ideas that finds its root in God, as Christians understand Him, was perfectly obvious to him, and to the people of his time. Evidently that "people" included the great rationalist, Thomas Jefferson — student of John Locke among others. Don't forget that Locke wrote that splendid piece, "On Religious Toleration." It was mainly addressed to the problems of religious sectarianism of his time. But all the "sects" he had in view were Christian ones....

Did you happen to read David McCullough's magisterial, Pulitzer prize-winning biography of John Adams? If not, maybe you should.