ipl-logo

Argumentative Essay On The Declaration Of Independence

498 Words2 Pages

For most American students, the school day starts with the Pledge of Allegiance. This pledge symbolizes for what America supposedly stands. The end of the pledge summarizes the beliefs of the American people with the statement “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” The first part of the statement “one nation under God” is the spark for many debates about the religious founding of America. These debates all strive to decide between two questions. Was America founded by men of God? Or was America founded by men who believed in the necessary freedom to practice all beliefs? The men who founded America did not found it as a Christian Nation, and this is seen through two main documents and many quotes left by the …show more content…

Often the true purpose of the Declaration is misunderstood. Dan Barker said that “We are not governed by the Declaration. Its purpose was to 'dissolve the political bands,' not to set up a religious nation” ("Does the Declaration of Independence Set a Precedent for Religion in Government? - Under God in the Pledge - ProCon.org.")Therefore Declaration is not a governmental influence; it is a document that represents gaining independence from an oppressor. Because it was written by the founders, Christian scholars use the Declaration as evidence of America as a Christian Nation. This is disproven by Dr. Gregg Frazer when he states; …there is no specifically Christian or biblical language in the Declaration of Independence. Of the four references to God, the only biblical term in the Declaration is the general term Creator-a term used by deists, Jews, Christians, and secularists alike in 1776. (Frazer) The language of a document is important in finding the truth and the truth here is that the Declaration was written in a way that agreed with the terminology of multiple religions of the day. Other than the Declaration the founding fathers also left another document called the

Open Document