Screw Chuck Norris

by on Jan 6, 2009

Hey, Chuck, ever hear of Separation of Church and State? In the video below, Chuck Norris and his wife spout nonsense about how our Founding Fathers based the United States on the bible and want the bible taught in public schools. I knew Chuck was ultra conservative, but I had no idea he was suck a religious fanatic. Here’s the video:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pnFg0Sp2Xw[/youtube]

Chuck, you are wrong. Plain and simple. Wrong.

The Founding Fathers are those who signed the Declaration of Independence, participated in the American Revolution, or who participated in the drafting of the Constitution of the United States. These men were of all different religious and faiths, and many were very opposed to organized religion. One of those vocal about their opposition was Thomas Jefferson (back to him in a moment).

The Constitution was adopted in 1787 and later ratified by conventions in each U.S. state. The First Amendment, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights, was added in 1791. The First Amendment, specifically, states the following:

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.

Thomas Jefferson, one of our Founding Fathers, in a letter written in 1802, referenced the First Amendment. The phrase “Separation of Church and State” can be traced back to this letter, in which he stated that the First Amendment creates a “wall of separation.” The phrase was then quoted by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1878.

So, there you have it Chuck. Not only were the Founding Fathers not of one religion or faith, but the Constitution was amended to guarantee that 1) we don’t have to follow any religion, and 2) that there is a Separation of Church and State.

  • http://www.hahnathome.com lori

    Why is it we have to EXPLAIN this to people? I just don’t get it. Are they stupid or just stupid?

    lori´s last blog post..The Lessons of Others and Other Red Flags

  • http://drivelocity.com drivelocity

    I’m going to go out on a limb and say they’re stupid ;)

  • Bob

    Actually, the separation of church and state was meant to protect churches. And the founding fathers were Christian, no matter how you try to rewrite history.

  • http://drivelocity.com drivelocity

    Bob, I won’t dispute that Separation of Church and State does protect churches from the government, but you have to concede that the opposite is true. One main intention was to not have a national religion, thus not forcing anybody to follow one religious view (i.e. Christianity), or another.

    James Madison stated, “practical distinction between Religion and Civil Government is essential to the purity of both.” In other words, it works both ways.

    While Jefferson may have been a theist, he was also responsible for the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which includes a section that specifically states, “no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever…” That was almost a decade prior to the Constitution being adopted.

    I’m not trying to rewrite history at all. I have simply taken a fairly casual look into this arena and found that not all of our Founding Fathers were religious and that some were very adamant about this segregation of government and organized religion.