The Truth The idea that the United States government was established on Christian values is one of the greatest religious misconceptions in America. Phrases like “IN GOD WE TRUST” and “ONE NATION UNDER GOD” have been misconstrued by the established church and presented as being evidence of the nations “Christian heritage”. This is nothing less than religious and spiritual abuse and misuse of the church’s influence as it attempts to wield the power of the right and gain religious and political authority over the country. The facts are that, though the majority of America’s founding fathers may have been Christian by affiliation, many of them were, to a great degree, humanist in their worldview and political outlook... and this had a profound impact on how they viewed the involvement of the institutionalised church in political affairs. Though some may have brought their religion into their politics, they refused to bring ORGANISED religious establishments into politics. And yes... there is a difference. To understand the development of the American political stance respecting the relationship between the church and the state, one must understand the relationship that the church had with the state prior to the American Revolution. Prior to the 13 colonies becoming independent, they resembled much of their European counterparts when it came to the influence that religion had on civil matters. The southern colonies were largely Roman Catholic due to Spanish influence, which up until the late 1700’s, ruled Europe with an iron fist. To the North, England reigned supreme, and with it, the Church Of England which governed the state much like the Roman Catholic Church. In many of the colonies, it was a crime not to attend religious events, crimes they were punishable by finds, incarceration and in some cases, death. It was in this religiously hostile environment that the independent free colony of Pennsylvania came into existence. Started by the Quaker William...