Our Founding Fathers

Washington didn't actually say this, it was Joel Barlow (Treaty of Tripoli)

The left side of this photo is quite common to those who, let's face it, don't know what the hell they're talking about. Excuse me, unenlightened well-meaning Christians. So let's get down to it and clear a few things up:

Thomas Paine wrote The Age of Reason, a book which criticizes established religion and challenges the Bible. He famously called the Bible "mythology". He did believe in God but didn't hold to Christian beliefs, he was a deist. He was an immigrant from England and it was actually Benjamin Franklin that suggested he emigrate to America.

John Adams was a Unitarian, which means he didn't believe in the Holy Trinity, he only believed that God was one person, not three (He was raised as a Congregationalist). He was very much against orthodox Christian dogma. One of his most famous quotes, "This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it”. In contrast however, he said this about Thomas Paine's criticisms of Christianity, "The Christian religion is, above all the religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virtue, equity and humanity, let the Blackguard Paine say what he will."

James Madison was an Episcopalian "During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What have been its fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity, in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution." Context - Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments (1785)

Thomas Jefferson coined the phrase, "separation of church and state" in 1802. He called the gospels "defective" and "doubtful" and made many references that make it clear that he, like Thomas Paine, believed in God but didn't hold to Christianity. "Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law."

The Pledge of Allegiance was originally written in 1892 by a man called Francis Bellamy. It read: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." The phrase "under God" wasn't added until 1954. Bellamy was a Baptist minister and a Christian Socialist.

These men were all secularists and all supported the separation of church and state. They were some of the most important men in the history of the United States. And if you just so happen to hear someone saying things like the late Jerry Falwell did, please refer them to the First Amendment.