Many believe that the United States is a country founded on the Christian belief system; but, is this true? To answer this question definitively the Treaty of Tripoli is an often invoked piece of historical documentation that many believe unequivocally states that the United states is not a Christian nation. Authored by diplomat Joel Barlow and signed by president John Adams, the Treaty Of Tripoli states the following:

"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Musselmen; and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries." [emphasis added]

In an article about the Treaty of Tripoli the online encyclopedia Wikipedia describes the response to the treaty among senate members based on the official record:

Official records show that after President John Adams sent the treaty to the Senate for ratification in May 1797, the entire treaty was read aloud on the Senate floor, and copies were printed for every Senator. A committee considered the treaty and recommended ratification, 23 of the 32 sitting Senators were present for the June 7 vote which unanimously approved the ratification recommendation.

It doesn't seem as though the president or the senators involved objected in any way to the wording of the treaty. It's unlikely that the president and legislative members of the government would have chosen to unanimously ratify a treaty that specifically states that the United States is not founded on Christianity if it were not true.

The wall of separation between church and state

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. - Thomas Jefferson[excerpt from a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association, 1802]

The founding fathers were first and foremost secularists who envisioned a country where the laws are not dictated by the authority of the church or where the church is under the authority of the state. One need not look any further than the first amendment in the constitution to see that it looks on religion, of any kind, with indifference. The first amendment has this to say about religion:

"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."[emphasis added]

If the United States was founded with the intention of establishing it as a Christian theocracy why would the constitution establish a clause prohibiting a religious test as a requirement for anyone seeking public office? Below is an excerpt from article six section three of the constitution that contains the religious test prohibition:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.[emphasis added]

Although, the Declaration of Independence does make reference to natures god, creator, and divine providence in some parts, these references reflect more of a deistic view of god. The Declaration of Independence makes no mention of Christianity, Jesus, or the Bible and this should be no surprise since the declaration was, after all, written by Thomas Jefferson, a deist. Some of the most notable figures who founded this nation were also deists among whom were: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, and James Monroe.

Supporters of the idea that the founders intended the United States to be a Christian nation sometimes make reference to the "In God We Trust" printed on American currency or the "Under God" in the pledge of allegiance to make their case. The "In God We Trust" on American currency was added in the fifties by president Eisenhower in an effort to rally Americans against "godless communism" during the Cold War. The "Under God" in the pledge of allegiance was also added during this period for the same reason.

Notice that all mentions of god in the constitution, on currency or in pledges, never place god in any specific religious context. It is clear from all of the historical evidence and the express indifference to religion in the constitution that the founding fathers did not intend to establish the United States as a Christian theocracy.