Not very bright

[melchar]

55% of those polled believed the US constitution stated that the US was founded as a Christian nation. Just kind of sad [just as a FYI there is no mention of God in the Constitution].

On a positive note, I would've thought that it was closer to 80% would would have answered that question wrong - so people are less dumb than they could be. ^_^

Comments

[maestrodog.livejournal.com]

Most people are pretty ignorant of US History as a whole. I wonder how many people still know the Pledge of Allegiance, or could explain the design on the American flag, name their state representatives, or know what the first 10 amendments of the constitution really are.

[howeird]

While the Constitution doesn't mention gods, the Declaration of Independence does so, big-time. It's where we got our "inalienable rights".

I've always had a problem with the question, because in fact all the founders of this country were Christian, and all the countries they were familiar with had some form of Christianity as the state religion. The reason for the "Congeff Shall Make No Law" in the 1st amendment was not to make this a non-Christian country, but to steer clear of the Church of England vs. Church of Rome controversy which could have torn the country apart. It's clear from the original definition of citizenship that the founders were thinking of creating a white, Christian nation.

As a non-Christian, I am happy that the end result has been more rights for me, but I chalk that up to the high percentage of non-Christian attorneys who have played the 1st amendment card to their advantage.

With the current anti-Islam feelings in the country these days, I would not be surprised if a Constitutional amendment was introduced to make this a Christian country.

[pbsjones.livejournal.com]

Stolen from the 'net (where, if it's there, it must be so!) Lots of facts can be found at: http://freethought.mbdojo.com
Most of the Founders were Deists, which is to say they thought the universe had a creator, but that he does not concern himself with the daily lives of humans, and does not directly communicate with humans, either by revelation or by sacred books. They spoke often of God, (Nature's God or the God of Nature), but this was not the God of the bible. They did not deny that there was a person called Jesus, and praised him for his benevolent teachings, but they flatly denied his divinity. Some people speculate that if Charles Darwin had lived a century earlier, the Founding Fathers would have had a basis for accepting naturalistic origins of life, and they would have been atheists. Most of them were stoutly opposed to the bible, and the teachings of Christianity in particular.

Yes, there were Christian men among the Founders. Just as Congress removed Thomas Jefferson's words that condemned the practice of slavery in the colonies, they also altered his wording regarding equal rights. His original wording is here in parentheses: "All men are created equal (and independent. From that equal creation they derive rights inherent and inalienable.)" Congress changed that phrase, increasing its religious overtones: "All men are created equal. They are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights." But we are not governed by the Declaration of Independence-- it is a historical document, not a constitutional one.

[nobarking.livejournal.com]

Wasn't it something like 75% thought that it was in the Constitution that they had a right to own a pet?

That's okay, Canadians don't even have numbered rights, so we're generally not even sure what ours are.

[bosn.livejournal.com]

If they asked that question in Oakland %80 would have said Raider nation.....

Then robbed you.