LOS ANGELES — While some might contend that religion should play no role in a free society, this view of “freedom” hardly resembles the intentions of America’s Founding Fathers.
In a video released the day before Independence Day, PragerU asks the question, Was America Founded to be Secular?
The answer is a categorical, “No.” On the contrary, freedom and religion were “inextricably linked” together. “The Founders knew that the absolute enemy of freedom was — ironically — a freedom that was absolute and unrestrained,” says PragerU contributor Joshua Charles, author of “Liberty’s Secrets” and a writer and researcher for the Museum of the Bible, which opens in Washington, D.C. later this year.
Charles further quotes Thomas Jefferson, whom skeptics have often pointed to as being less religious than his compatriots: “Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? [And] that they are not to be violated but with his wrath?”
This conviction is confirmed by several other Founding Fathers:
“James Madison likewise affirmed the essential connection between religion and morality: ‘The belief in a God All Powerful, wise, and good is. . . essential to the moral order of the world and to the happiness of man. . . .’
“John Adams believed that ‘the doctrine of a supreme, intelligent, wise, almighty sovereign of the universe,’ a doctrine he credited to Judaism, was the ‘great essential principle of all morality, and consequently of all civilization.’ And he applied this thinking specifically to the new nation he helped to create: ‘Our Constitution,’ he said, ‘was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other… As President, he replied to a letter from university students in a way that would surprise many today: ‘Science, liberty, and religion . . . have an inseparable union. Without their joint influence no society can be great, flourishing, or happy.’”
Then there’s Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, Samuel Adams and Benjamin Franklin — all Founding Fathers who believed religion and morality were “indispensable supports” for the American nation.
“That’s about all that could be included in five minutes, but the truth is that there is so much evidence for this that our video could have gone on for five hours,” said Marissa Streit, PragerU’s Chief Executive Officer.
Joshua Charles concludes by making it clear that the Founders never demanded American citizens believe in God, but rather feared a society devoid of religion.
Three days after its debut, PragerU’s new video had already received over 1.4 million views.
NOTE: PragerU contributor, Joshua Charles, is available for interviews. Contact MediaInquiries@theKcompany.co.
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PragerU, founded by Dennis Prager in 2011, is a not-for-profit organization that helps millions understand the values that shaped America, and provides millions of Americans and people around the world with the intellectual ammunition they need to advocate for limited government, individual responsibility and economic freedom. In 2016 alone, PragerU’s videos received over 250 million views, a figure that will eclipse 350 million in 2017. PragerU is a resource for all who value liberty. It is a threat to all those who do not. www.prageru.com
