AUTUMN REGULAR TOURNAMENT: Atheistic Protection Under the American Constitution.

Introduction and Disclaimer:This debate is a part of the Autumn Regular Tournament, hosted by bsh1 and tejretics. Only Philocat can accept this debate, as he is my assigned opponent.The full resolution is as follows: "Resolved: That, at the Time of the American Founding, Atheism was Constitutionally Protected Under the First Amendment."Debate Layout:First Round is Introduction and Instigation by Con and Acceptance by Pro.Second Round is Constructive Arguments; absolutely NO REBUTTALS whatsoever.Third Round is Rebuttals ONLY.Fourth Round is Counter-Rebuttals, Conclusion, and Summary.Definitions:American: Of, relating to, or characteristic of the United Statesor its inhabitants. [1]Founding: The establishment or origination of an institution or organization, especially by providing an endowment. (Definition contextually modified to adhere to the circumstances of use in the Resolution). [2]Constitutionally: In a way that is in accordance with a political constitutional. (In this case, the American Constitution).[3]Protected: Secured, sheltered, in safe hands, safe, guarded, out of danger,safeguarded, or preserved. [4]Under: As provided for by the rules of; in accordance with. [5]First Amendment: An amendment to the U.S Constitution, prohibiting Congress from interfering with the Freedom of Religion, Worship, Speech, Press, Assembly, or petition to the government. (Definition contextually modified to adhere to the circumstances of use in the Resolution). [6]Rules:No trolling.No Kritiks/Ks.No inappropriate behavior (cursing or insults).Arguments from semantics are allowed (thus the lack of certain definitions).Opponent cannot define words in the Acceptance round.Semantics may only occur in the Arguments, Rebuttals, and Counter-Rebuttals.The First Amendment:Due to the nature of this debate, both I and my opponent will be citing and quoting the First Amendment. For the sake of the debate and the convenience of the participants, I will provide the full text of the First Amendment:"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." [7]Acceptance Disclaimer:By accepting this debate, you agree to abide by the above rules and debate format. Also, you agree to remain within the parameters set by the definitions. Any violation of the rules or debate format, or any straying from the established definitions, will result in a complete forfeiture of the debate.I look forward to debating Philocat. He is an intellectual as I am, and as such I expect no less than his full effort. I hope this is going to be a fun yet serious debate. May the best debater win.And thus begins the Assault on Reason."Religion is as necessary to reason as reason is to religion. The one cannot exist without the other. A reasoning being would lose his reason, in attempting to account for the great phenomena of nature, had he not a Supreme Being to refer to; and well has it been said, that if there had been no God, mankind would have been obliged to imagine one." [8]-George Washington___________________________________________________[1]http://www.oxforddictionaries.com...[2] http://www.oxforddictionaries.com...[3] http://www.oxforddictionaries.com...[4] http://www.oxforddictionaries.com...[5] http://www.oxforddictionaries.com...[6] http://www.thefreedictionary.com...[7] http://www.archives.gov...[8]http://www.brainyquote.com...