When declaring a separtion between Church and State did the founding fathers see the sense in having faith in yourself just as important as religion?

Answer 1

First of all if you read the First Amendement of The Constitution regarding religion, it says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,...". To me that means that the intent was NOT to separate church and state, but to insure that the Government did not establish a religion for the Nation and require citizens to be members of that church. Or to make National religion a requirement to vote or hold public office as Britain did with the Church of England. Now, that is the fact, here's my opinion. I'm not particularly a religious person, however, the new concept of 'separation of church and state' has gone too far. When I can't say "Merry Christmas" to someone for the more politically correct "Happy Holidays", I feel that is infringing upon my Constitutional guarantee to exercise my religious preference. I would not be offended if a member of the Jewish faith told me "Happy Hanukah", or if a Muslim were to wish me a "Happy New Year" when they celebrate their New Year on the Muslim calendar. I'm happy for and with them in their chosen belief, I just don't happen to agree with their religious precepts. If that's what they want to believe, let them believe it, but they shouldn't be offended by one of the basic fundamentals and guarantees of our Constitution. I believe that the Founders had more faith in each other than each did in himself. The ones that had a lot of faith in themselves didn't last very long, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr come immediately to mind in that category. Most of the Founders and early politicians had a profound belief in God and were practicing Christians of several denominations. George Washington's Thanksgiving Day Declaration was very religiouly oriented as was his Farewell Address (which was not an address but a written paper) at the end of his second term. I hope this helps.