We the People . . .

The obtuse Populist of our day is likely to cling to false ideas of the actuality of “what is” and attempt to create a fantasy world that will provide a feeling of certainty.  Many of these Fundamentalists detest “Liberals” and would like to claim the United States Constitution as a Christian document. The following three question true / false examination brings out these misconceptions.

    1)The Founding Fathers were Enlightenment Liberals who got the ideas related to natural rights found in the United States Constitution from John Locke, an English philosopher.

    2)The word “God” is contained in the United States Constitution a number of times.

    3)No person except a practicing Christian shall be eligible to the office of President of the United States.

The answer to the first question is “true” and the Fundamentalist is loath to admit that it is. The idea of a “Liberal” creating the constitution is anathema for her / him.

The answer to number (2) is, of course, false. The word God is not in the constitution. Nothing galls an Evangelical more than being told that the Constitution is “Godless.”

The answer to number (3) is also false. Article Six of the United States Constitution expressly “forbids a religious test as a requirement for holding a governmental position.”

The United States Constitution was erected on a foundation of “Reason.” Its secular nature has made it work and it has made it endure.