Excellent article in The Nation

[dwckabal]

Our Godless Constitution

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050221&s=allen

Great article laying out most of what we already know, but includes one tidbit that I was not aware of:

In 1797 our government concluded a "Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the United States of America and the Bey and Subjects of Tripoli, or Barbary," now known simply as the Treaty of Tripoli. Article 11 of the treaty contains these words:

As the Government of the United States...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.

This document was endorsed by Secretary of State Timothy Pickering and President John Adams. It was then sent to the Senate for ratification; the vote was unanimous. It is worth pointing out that although this was the 339th time a recorded vote had been required by the Senate, it was only the third unanimous vote in the Senate's history. There is no record of debate or dissent. The text of the treaty was printed in full in the Philadelphia Gazette and in two New York papers, but there were no screams of outrage, as one might expect today.

We will doubtless still hear the shrill declarations from those who claim otherwise, but as Lakoff said, "When the facts don't fit the frames, the frames are kept and the facts ignored."

[Az]

1. Oh this is a primary peace of evidence in the argument

And yes there has been shrill declarations from the right.

[immoderate]

2. It's the law of the land.

--IMM

[trotsky]

3. If today's Christians actually knew what TRUE persecution was...

they'd be quite strongly in support of the separation of church and state.

However, their idea of persecution is not being allowed to use the public address system at a high school football game to broadcast their little prayer.