GOP Wins the Contest for Number of God References in their Platform

[whell]

Originally Posted by Boreas

Why, then, does the word God not appear anywhere in the Constitution?

Also, why did they put this in the Treaty of Tripoli in 1797, a treaty which was unanimously ratified by Congress and signed by President John Adams, one of the Nation's founders:

As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion,—as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen,—and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

No one is suggesting that the US Government is a theocracy. However, Treaty you reference settled a dispute between the US and theocratic regimes. To include language that religious opinions should not be the basis of future disputes was deemed a prudent political addition. Also, the US Constitution is a document that proscribes the mechanics of the Federal Government, so there's no need to mention "God" in such a document. Alternatively, I believe some relevance can be attached to the fact that the very first amendment to the constitution is the one that protects religious freedom.

But to use that language from the Treaty to negate the idea that human rights and freedoms flowed "from Laws of Nature and of Nature's God", and that the authors of the Constitution ignored this idea when drafting the Constitution and other founding documents is a false notion. Whey else, then, does the Declaration make reference to "God", "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God", "divine Providence", etc., if these concepts were not relevant to the signatories of that document.

Also, if you want to focus on treaty language, may I refer you to the Treaty with Tunis in 1797, which contains the language which describes the President of the United States as:

"the most distinguished among those who profess the religion of the Messiah, of whom may the end be happy."