Letter to the editor: Faulty understanding

To the editor:

I would like to address Rita Moses’ letter to the editor, dated Oct. 14, in which she states, “our country was founded as a Christian country.” Although this seems to be a popular statement/conclusion by some of our representatives and citizens in political discussions, it is not supported. The First Amendment of our Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” More pertinently, however, is the wording of Article 11 of the U.S. treaty with Tripoli, signed by president John Adams in 1797, which reads, “The government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion.” The treaty was ratified by the United States Senate without debate, unanimously, in 1797, not that many years after our Constitution was signed and would, therefore, more accurately represent the views of our founding fathers.