Founding Fathers did not want a Christian nationalist state

Sometimes I can’t believe we live in 2024, especially when I hear about those extreme factions that want to turn this country into a Christian nationalist state. These are the same people who incorrectly argue that our country was founded on Christian nationalist principles.

Well, let’s go back to 1789 when the first Congress adopted the Bill of Rights. What was the First Amendment? “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

The Founding Fathers decided that this amendment separated us from European powers that relied on one religion governing those in power. Thomas Jefferson wrote on this subject: “I am for freedom of religion, & against all maneuvres to bring about a legal ascendancy of one sect over another; for freedom of the press, & against all violations of the constitution to silence by force & not by reason, the complaints or criticisms, just or unjust, of our citizens against the conduct of their agents.” (Jefferson letter to Elbridge Gerry)

There were those who wanted a national religion, but they were fought back by Jefferson, James Madison and others. So let’s get one thing straight: Those who advocate for a Christian nationalist state should be rebuked by the citizens of this country, as the Founding Fathers did to those who wanted a Christian national government back in the 1790s.

— Ray Tillman, Westminster