In his letter, Ashton Emery Hatch claims the United States is a successful nation because it is founded in Judeo-Christian principles, and that we must subject ourselves to a higher power to remain successful. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Treaty of Tripoli, signed into law by President John Adams, stated, “… the Government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion …” Further, the only references to God or religion in the Constitution are exclusionary. “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust.” (Article VI) and “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” (First Amendment). Even Thomas Jefferson wrote about “a wall of separation between church and state” in 1802.
If we are to be successful as a nation, we must understand that we are not a Christian nation, nor are we founded on Christian beliefs or principles.
Greg Sullivan, Tooele