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MYTH: THE PHANTOM PETITION
MYTH: The United States of America is a “Christian Nation”
FACT: The U.S. Constitution is a secular document. It
begins, “We the people,” and contains no
mention of “God” or “Christianity.” Its only
references to religion are exclusionary, such as,
“no religious test shall ever be required as a
qualification to any office or public trust” (Art.
VI), and “Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof” (First
Amendment). The presidential oath of office,
the only oath detailed in the Constitution, does
not contain the phrase “so help me God” or any
requirement to swear on a bible (Art. II, Sec. 7).
If we are a Christian nation, why doesn’t our
Constitution say so? In 1797 America made a
treaty with Tripoli, declaring that “the
government of the United States is not, in any
sense, founded on the Christian religion.” This
reassurance to Islam was written under
Washington’s presidency, and approved by the
Senate under John Adams.
For more, read the Freedom From Religion Foundations Nontract
No. 6
MYTH: The laws of the U.S. are based on the Ten Commandments
FACT: The first four Commandments are religious edicts having nothing to do with
law or ethical behavior. Only three (homicide, theft, and perjury) are relevant to current
American law, and have existed in cultures long before Moses. The Supreme
Court has ruled that posting the Ten Commandments in public schools is
unconstitutional.
Our secular laws, based on the human principle of “justice for all,” provide protection
against crimes, and our civil government enforces them through a secular criminal
justice system.
MYTH: One must believe in God or at least be religious in order to be considered “moral.”
FACT: Religiosity in no way guarantees that a person will be moral or act morally. The prisons in this country are
full of Christians, Jews, Muslims, etc. Conversely, many non-believers live exemplary lives following ethical, moral standards.
For more, visit this
site
MYTH: The words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance and “In God We Trust” on coins
and paper money, in addition to it being the National Motto, prove this country was founded on Christian principles
FACT: The words, “under God,” did not appear in the Pledge of Allegiance until 1954, when
Congress, under McCarthyism, inserted them. Likewise, “In God We Trust” was
absent from paper currency before 1956. It appeared on some coins earlier, as did
other sundry phrases, such as “Mind Your Business.” The original U.S. motto, chosen
by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson, is E Pluribus Unum (“Of
Many, One”), celebrating plurality, not theocracy.
Furthermore, as Justice Brennan wrote in his dissent in Lynch v. Donnelly,
“I would suggest that
such practices as the designation of “In God We Trust” as our national motto, or the references to
God contained in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag can best be understood, in Dean Rostow’s apt
phrase, as a form a “ceremonial deism,” protected from Establishment Clause scrutiny chiefly
because they have lost through rote repetition any significant religious content.” (emphasis added)
MYTH: Creation can be proven scientifically
FACT: The Bone Pit, Greene’s Creationism Truth Filter,
Is it real science?,
The Talk.Origins Archive
MYTH: The Bible explicitly condemns abortion
FACT: There is NO MENTION of abortion in the Bible
MYTH: James Madison said, “We have staked the whole of our political institutions
upon the capacity of mankind for
self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern
ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten
Commandments of God.”
FACT: This quote appears nowhere in the writings of Madison. It was debunked years ago
by Madison scholars and even many Religious Right leaders have
admitted that the quote can’t be substantiated.
This inaccurate Madison Ten Commandments quote was circulated
among the Religious Right chiefly by David Barton, a Texas man who
peddles a revisionist history arguing that the United States was founded
as a “Christian nation.” In 1996, Barton admitted that the quote is bogus
and recommended that people stop using it.