Essay on The Founders and Religious Freedom - 2008 Words

James Madison and Thomas Jefferson are two of the seven key founding fathers of the United States. The motive of the founders of the U.S. was to establish religious freedom in the colonies; therefore, religion was of importance to them. When the policy of the separation of church and state was enacted by the founding fathers through the Constitution, it meant that under a secular government, religious freedom would always be protected. Issues such as the freedom to practice one’s religion arose in the earlier colonies and the separation of church and states prevents these issues from occurring again. The separation of church and state protects the rights of all and ensures religious freedom. This policy has proven to be nothing but a†¦show more content†¦Not only did James Madison have views on the importance of religion but he was an adamant believer of the separation of church and state. Madison stated that breaking the ties between church and state would cause a gr owth in religious interest. He wrote about this in 1819 stating that â€Å"the number, the industry, and the morality of the priesthood and the devotion of the people have been manifestly increased by the total separation of the church from the state.† Thomas Jefferson shared this belief with Madison in his wall of separation between religion and government which is a fortification of liberty. He strongly supported the freedom of religion in America through the separation of church and state. â€Å"The phrase wall of separation between the church and the state was originally coined by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to the Danbury Baptists in 1802.† The purpose of the letter was to ease fears of the wall that the Danbury, Connecticut Baptists had. Jefferson said in his letter that the wall had been built to protect them. This was used to keep the state out of the church’s business. During pre-Revolutionary America there were efforts made to attain not only polit ical liberty but also religious freedom. The booming dissenting churches in Virginia had presented several pleas against religious discrimination to the Virginia House of Burgesses in the 1750s and 1706s. Some of Virginia’s statesmen and politicians included James Madison and ThomasShow MoreRelatedEssay about a christian nation802 Words   |  4 Pages There are many different opinions regarding the idea that the United States is a Christian nation. After reading the Church book, however, I believe it is obvious that our country was not in fact founded on Christianity. Even though many religious right groups insist our laws should enforce the doctrines of Protestant Christianity. The documents written by our founding fathers say otherwise. 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