The United States was founded as a Christian Nation

My opponent says: "You said the America is the first country not to be founded on a religion witch [sic] is true...." My opponent admits that the United States of America was not founded on a religion. Christianity is a religion, so my opponent admits here that the United States was NOT founded on Christianity. I believe here that my opponent has admitted that I have successfully defended that the US was NOT founded as a Christian Nation, and hence concedes the main point of the debate. My opponent also says that "... the founders wanted the country to be founded on Christian beliefs." I think that this is just slightly off. Instead of "beliefs," I would put "values." The Founding Fathers, as I've said before, were certainly respectful of the Bible's ability to prescribe ethics, and certainly wanted to use ethics, including Biblical ethics, to guide the United States. However, the Founding Fathers for the most part personally and certainly officially did not want the United States to be founded on Christian beliefs. I have explained this multiple times, but my opponent in each round does not address these arguments specifically. Simply being guided by ethics from a multitude of sources including the Bible does not make the United States Federal Government Christian. This appreciation for Christian values helps explains Patrick Henry's words that AGAIN my opponent neglects to cite (there are at least two typos in the quote too. I doubt those belonged to Patrick Henry). Patrick Henry believed that the gospels of Jesus gives some important wisdom for running the government. This does *not* mean that Patrick Henry advocated a Theocracy, or a State religion, or only Christian leaders. Patrick Henry also points out that it is Christian ethics that advocate tolerance of other religions, according to this quote. What Patrick Henry says privately to his children really doesn't have anything to do with the debate about the US as far as I can tell, since this was advice for his family and not the government. My opponent does not cite the Paris Peace Treaty. This is problematic because I only have one hour to respond, and I have a life. This makes it very difficult to look up, and makes it untrustworthy for voters. Now, if I give my opponent the benefit of the significant doubt and take her/him at her/his word, this still does not mean that the US was founded on religion, or Christianity. "The year of our Lord" is a common phrase for A.D. In fact, A.D. in Latin means "the year of our lord" ("Anno Domini") It's use was standard and not of religious significance.[1] Signing under the name of the trinity also does not reflect official policy but was a matter of tradition. As far as official Policy is concerned, I've won the debate. Also, my opponent added new sources in the last round, so I think I am allowed to do so as well. 1. The constitution protects religious preference in the government: Congress shall make NO law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." [2] 2. None of the state constitutions mentioned following Jesus, nor did the Declaration of Independence. 3. There was a separation of Church and State 4. The United States is the first nation with no official religion. 5. The Constitution did not allow elections or government positions to be based on religion. My opponent dropped or conceded all of these arguments. This is from the Treaty of Tripoli: "As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion...." [2] Conclusion: Simply because many of the Founding Fathers respected the advice of the Bible for running a government does not mean that they wanted the United States to be a Christian Nation. In fact, they were one of the first to make country that did the opposite: Make sure that it was founded on no particular religious views or preferences. The Constitution does not allow Christianity to be part of the official government policy. I gave many examples of this. There is no state constitution that recognizes Jesus, a point my opponent dropped. The Constitution does not allow the government to fund religious institutions. Many founding fathers were not Christians. The treaty I mentioned specifically said that the United States was not founded as a Christian Nation. My opponent gives no sources, nor any official documents claiming that the United States was founded on Christianity. In contrast, the Constitution forbid and prevented the United States from being founded on Christianity. Again, my opponent has not citations, even after I asked. There is no reason to trust any of her/his points. My opponent also conceded that the US was not founded on religion. While there were certainly plenty of Christians in the US, as I have thoroughly pointed out, the US was not by any means a "Christian nation." [1] http://en.wikipedia.org...(full) [2] http://www.nobeliefs.com...