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The United States has the world's largest Christian population, and its founding was directly influenced by religion; the Church of England and the Puritans.[1]

The United States has the world's largest Christian population, and its founding was directly influenced by religion; the Church of England and the Puritans.[1][2][3][4] To suggest otherwise is to completely ignore not only history, but the present. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Colony https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Colony [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_of_New_England#Establishment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_of_New_England#Establ... [3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Massachusetts_Bay https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Massachusetts_Bay [4]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Massachusetts_Bay#Revolution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Massachusetts_Bay#...

andrewjl 5y ago
This isn't really the whole story. Many of the founders were Deist and/or practically irreligious. The other important distinction is that the Church of England is essentially a state church. In many ways the U.S. Constitution, on which Nonconformists had far more influence, is its antithesis. [1] Puritanism/Nonconformism views religion as a personal or at most a local matter. One of the references you shared has an interesting quote to this effect stating that when England tried to impose it's unelected colonial official rule, Puritan officials "were of opinion that God would never suffer me to land again in this country, and thereupon began in a most arbitrary manner to assert their power higher than at any time before." [2] A much more accurate picture of what the U.S. started out as and has become today would be a mosaic or a patchwork of various religions and/or philosophies where one always has a choice whether to participate (or abstain). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonconformist_(Protestantism) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonconformist_(Protestantism) [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_of_New_England#Dudley_administration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_of_New_England#Dudley...
- andrewmcwatters 5y ago
  That's so far from the truth, that it's a fraudulent historical claim. They were almost all religious, and the early population of both the proto-United States, and the then-declared independent states were predominantly Protestant.
  - andrewjl 5y ago
    I think it's a contestable claim, sure, but fraudulent is a bit doth protest too much in this case. Out of curiosity, what does being religious actually mean in the way that you used the term above? Besides the purely superficial, "I believe in such and such" (and not backed up by any inner conviction) sort. Because a purely nominal religiosity is hardly evidence of any substantive cultural or political influence. It takes more than that to count as influence IMO.

andrewjl 5y ago

This isn't really the whole story. Many of the founders were Deist and/or practically irreligious. The other important distinction is that the Church of England is essentially a state church. In many ways the U.S. Constitution, on which Nonconformists had far more influence, is its antithesis. [1] Puritanism/Nonconformism views religion as a personal or at most a local matter. One of the references you shared has an interesting quote to this effect stating that when England tried to impose it's unelected colonial official rule, Puritan officials "were of opinion that God would never suffer me to land again in this country, and thereupon began in a most arbitrary manner to assert their power higher than at any time before." [2] A much more accurate picture of what the U.S. started out as and has become today would be a mosaic or a patchwork of various religions and/or philosophies where one always has a choice whether to participate (or abstain). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonconformist_(Protestantism) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonconformist_(Protestantism) [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_of_New_England#Dudley_administration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_of_New_England#Dudley...

andrewmcwatters 5y ago
That's so far from the truth, that it's a fraudulent historical claim. They were almost all religious, and the early population of both the proto-United States, and the then-declared independent states were predominantly Protestant.
- andrewjl 5y ago
  I think it's a contestable claim, sure, but fraudulent is a bit doth protest too much in this case. Out of curiosity, what does being religious actually mean in the way that you used the term above? Besides the purely superficial, "I believe in such and such" (and not backed up by any inner conviction) sort. Because a purely nominal religiosity is hardly evidence of any substantive cultural or political influence. It takes more than that to count as influence IMO.