There are those who are quite seriously crazy about their goal of removing all reference to God or religion from government and public life. They often refer to the separation of chruch and state arguement.
Yes, our country was founded on the principle that no single religion should be overly favored by government, so that in this nation there would be no national religion. As there was in England, which contributed greatly to so many people fleeing there for here. Naturally this nation's founders were a bit hesitant to leave the doors open for the government to have the power to dictate religion.
However, what the founders thought of as separate religions then, isn't quite how we see things today. For them, Catholic, Luthern, Quaker, Anglican, Episcopal, etc. were all DIFFERENT religions. As important a distinction to them as Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buhdist, Hindu are to us today. This change in the public perception of what defines DIFFERENT in religion is the source much of the "separation of church and state" dissagreement today.
The founders of this nation were predominantly wealthy, white, protestant Christian, men. There's no point in arguing that fact. As such, they had certain views about how to interpret the universe that included (among other things) a belief in the Christian view of God. Did they intend for this to be a theocratic nation, that is to say a nation ruled by clerics and preachers? No, they clearly did not. Did they invision this to be a predominantly Christian nation? Yes, insofar as they saw the citizens they represented as Chirstian people of one kind or another.
It then stands to reason that there should be references to God and the Christian view of God in that society. And government, as it is set up, is a product of its society. So there are references to God in government documents, architechture, monuments, etc. Just as there are references or images of horses, George Washington, government buildings, etc.
But that doesn't mean that the laws of this land, as set up by the founding lawmakers, makes Christianity the only recognized and tolerated religion. We are insured the right to freedom of religion, regardless of what religion that is. Since the founding lawmakers didn't make any special allowances for the government to crack down on particular religions, all are permited and legally protected from governmental and societal persecution. Period. Don't like it? Then get an ammendment to the Bill Of Rights passed.
As I started saying at the begining of this post. Some people take this freedom from religious persecution ideal way too far. Having the Ten Commandments up on governmental property is not an indication of a state religion. It is an indication of the majority in office wanting to put up some rules from their religion for public display. Neither the meaning of those words, nor the presence of them is overtly hostile to members of another religion. Keep in mind that those commandments were given to a select audience (Moses and his followers) -- not the whole world. Having them written down in public in 21st Century America doesn't make them rules everyone must obey. They aren't laws to be enforced by government, people. They are a quote from a book.
Those who continue to blather on about how any reference to God or religion should be expressly banned from government and tax-funded organizations are out of their collective minds. God (in many forms) is an accepted part of reality for the vast majority of the human race. Deal with it. This nation is a democracy where majority rules, within the confines of the Constitution. As I see things, that means there can be references to God on public buildings and the like. But that isn't limited to the Chirstian God. Want a Buhda reference on your local statehouse? Then lobby, get supporters, and get it done. That is the beauty of how our laws are set up. Get enough people to support something and you really can get your way.
