Most think founders wanted Christian USA
By Andrea Stone, USA TODAY

Most Americans believe the nation's founders wrote Christianity into the Constitution, and people are less likely to say freedom to worship covers religious groups they consider extreme, a poll out today finds.

The survey measuring attitudes toward freedom of religion, speech and the press found that 55% believe erroneously that the Constitution establishes a Christian nation.

In the survey, which is conducted annually by the First Amendment Center, a non-partisan educational group, three out of four people who identify themselves as evangelical or Republican believe that the Constitution establishes a Christian nation. About half of Democrats and independents do.

Most respondents, 58%, say teachers in public schools should be allowed to lead prayers. That is an increase from 2005, when 52% supported teacher-led prayer in public schools.

More people, 43%, say public schools should be allowed to put on Nativity re-enactments with Christian music than in 2005, when 36% did.

Most think founders wanted Christian USA - USATODAY.com

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Well, those people have never read the Constitution because the word "God" is not in it. Neither "Christ" nor any deriviative thereof is in the Constitution. The best they can do is note "The year of Our Lord" in the date of the document. That was a common practice and does not establish a Christian nation. But then, I'm sure they don't know how the date was written if they don't know that 'god" and "Christ" are not mentioned.

...

Sounds as if there's quite a few ignorant people out there.

For starters, the Founding Fathers were all over the place -- religiously speaking. There were a couple of hard-core evangelicals.. to be sure. But there were also deists, agnostics and just sort of run-of-the-mill, I go to church on Sunday types.

So, to foist this idea that they were all of one mind from a religoius standpoint is just plain ignorant.

That's why they agreed on the policy of everybody pretty much checking his/her religion in at the door when it came to the public sphere. Which I agree with.

'Cause as I like to tell evangelicals who want to lead my kids in Bible study in public schools... well, okay,that's fine...

...so long as I get to lead your kids in Baha'i studies in the next room.

Relious extremism that turns violent should not be tolerated and those that do this should be exterminated.

Don't forget that they remembered why people came to this country in the first place; to escape religious persecution. They saw what came with having a state sponsored religion, and knew nothing good would come of it.

That is true. They realized such an arrangement isn't good for either religion or the state.

Just goes to show most people are stupid and woefully educated.

I think of this as too bad. The founding fathers had every opportunity to add religion into the constitution but chose not to.

Thankfully!

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I wonder if the increase in people who say that want religion in the public schools has something to do with some of the remaining fundamentalist Christians in this country who want to reclaim some "souls" and have the govt help them do it.

Christianity is on the decline in America. The number of Americans describing themselves as Christian went from about 86% in 1990 to about 76% in 2000, while the number people who adhere to no religion and those who describe themselves as atheist and agnostic showed a large increase.

Over a few years on the Yahoo boards, one argument I frequently saw from fundamentalists was that Christianity is the majority religion and since the "majority rules" (their argument, not mine), they should get to inject their religion into the public schools and govt and everyone else should just shut up and deal with it. I think the fundamentalists are afraid of not being in the majority.

Just an idea. Feel free to disagree.