Comment Re:RICO use and abuse - Or Not (Score 1) 155
It seems to me is that what you are stopping short of saying is something along the lines of... "The United States was founded by Christian interests and therefore freedom of religion really means the protection of Christian denominations..." When in reality our founding fathers (of whome I am quite proud of) were far less concerned with religion (see Jefferson and Franklin as prime examples) and far more concerned with ending trade controls and the economic hardships placed on them (taxes) by a foreign body in which their interests were not represented (remember "taxation without representation is tyranny"???). These men were business men that ranged from the those born into great wealth (i.e. Washington and Jefferson), to those who were self made wealthy from humble beginnings(i.e. Franklin), but their objective was to free themselves from the economic burden placed on them the the British monarchy.
I suspect that the parent used the word "from" as emphasis since everybody knows the word is "of". "Freedom of Religion," had nothing to do with what you have posted and had everything to do with the habit of monarchs enforcing official religions at their whim (for instance when they wanted a divorce) and making other religions illegal and used to what ever purpose may be suitable such as extorting those who were out of their favor (many people were hung for herecy). The intent was to bar the ruling body from exerting any influences over an individual's thoughts on religion and to keep rulers from using this as a tool for extortion. This was also meant to keep the ruling body from forming power aliances with the clergy, since even by then, the monarchs understood the control the clergy held over the masses through the use of religion. ..and yes, rejecting the notion of an almighty humanistic God is also protected by this. By the way, Atheists aren't the only people who don't believe in "God", Buddists and Taoists also come to mind...
If one were to use your reasoning and the fact that out of the 56 founding fathers, 51 were slave owners combined a few other tidbits of information, and one could argue that America was meant to be a nation where blacks were slaves and women were posessions of their husbands.
I suspect that the parent used the word "from" as emphasis since everybody knows the word is "of". "Freedom of Religion," had nothing to do with what you have posted and had everything to do with the habit of monarchs enforcing official religions at their whim (for instance when they wanted a divorce) and making other religions illegal and used to what ever purpose may be suitable such as extorting those who were out of their favor (many people were hung for herecy). The intent was to bar the ruling body from exerting any influences over an individual's thoughts on religion and to keep rulers from using this as a tool for extortion. This was also meant to keep the ruling body from forming power aliances with the clergy, since even by then, the monarchs understood the control the clergy held over the masses through the use of religion.
If one were to use your reasoning and the fact that out of the 56 founding fathers, 51 were slave owners combined a few other tidbits of information, and one could argue that America was meant to be a nation where blacks were slaves and women were posessions of their husbands.
