Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Friend · 03-21-2002, 11:27 AM

The thing I find interesting about the issue with separation of church and state, is that law was created by "Christians". mostly the protestants who came out of the English Monarchy system, where the Anglocan church was the only church.

~ Friend ~

MadMordigan · 03-21-2002, 12:00 PM

'Christians' who had travelled to the other side of the world to get away from such a system.

Corwin · 03-21-2002, 12:22 PM

Actually only partially true. A fair number of the Founders were existentialist non-christians. (Frequently Deists. If I remember right both of the Adams presidents were Unitarians.) There were a few christians tho.

braces_for_impact · 04-11-2002, 10:22 AM

I think it's important to remember that those who originally came here first were fleeing religious persecution and seeking the freedom to worship as they wish. There was, however several hundred years between this time and the drafting of the constitution. The founding fathers which drafted the constitution were quite different from those that came here originally. While the founding fathers sought to guarantee everyone's right to worship as they wished, and to erect a wall between church and state, the original English inhabitants were shall we say 'less than tolerant'of other faiths.

ohwilleke · 04-12-2002, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Friend:
<strong>The thing I find interesting about the issue with separation of church and state, is that law was created by "Christians". mostly the protestants who came out of the English Monarchy system, where the Anglocan church was the only church.

~ Friend ~

</strong>

If you are referring to the "common law" you aren't quite on target. English common law dates to 1066, and the Magna Carta to 1215. Both of these far pre-date 1517, which is generally considered the start of the Reformation (i.e. the creation of Protestantism) or the 1534 creation of the Anglican Church.

Moreoever, the common law owes little substantively to Biblical law. It owes far more to Norse and Celtic customary law, and to multi-cultural commercial practices.

The only area in England which was governed by Canon law, rather than secular law, was inheritance of personal property. And here, the church law, which divided personal property equally among a person's descendants, differred greatly from secular law, which gave real estate to the most direct, eldest male heir.

[ April 12, 2002: Message edited by: ohwilleke ]</p>

03-21-2002, 11:27 AM	#1
Friend Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: home Posts: 31	interesting The thing I find interesting about the issue with separation of church and state, is that law was created by "Christians". mostly the protestants who came out of the English Monarchy system, where the Anglocan church was the only church. ~ Friend ~

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

03-21-2002, 12:00 PM	#2
MadMordigan Beloved Deceased Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Vancouver BC Canada Posts: 2,704	'Christians' who had travelled to the other side of the world to get away from such a system.

03-21-2002, 12:22 PM	#3
Corwin Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 4,369	Actually only partially true. A fair number of the Founders were existentialist non-christians. (Frequently Deists. If I remember right both of the Adams presidents were Unitarians.) There were a few christians tho.

04-11-2002, 10:22 AM	#4
braces_for_impact Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: In a nondescript, black helicopter. Posts: 6,637	I think it's important to remember that those who originally came here first were fleeing religious persecution and seeking the freedom to worship as they wish. There was, however several hundred years between this time and the drafting of the constitution. The founding fathers which drafted the constitution were quite different from those that came here originally. While the founding fathers sought to guarantee everyone's right to worship as they wished, and to erect a wall between church and state, the original English inhabitants were shall we say 'less than tolerant'of other faiths.

Freethought & Rationalism Archive

The archives are read only.